The Emergence of Climate Change Litigation in the Global South

Abstract This chapter focuses on where Global South climate litigation is emerging and what this indicates about the preconditions for development of climate jurisprudence. The chapter takes a deep dive into the climate case law of three ‘forerunner’ jurisdictions with the greatest number of cases across the Asia and Pacific, African, and Latin American regions: India, South Africa, and Brazil. This analysis identifies five conditions as explanatory factors for the emergence of climate litigation: (1) access to justice; (2) a climate-conscious judiciary; (3) progressive environmental jurisprudence and/or the existence of climate change laws, policies, and institutions; (4) constitutional protection for the environment; and (5) a well-developed civil society. This suggests that if litigation is to be promoted as a climate change governance tool in the Global South, policy attention and resources must continue to be directed to establishing and strengthening the fundamental pillars of effective legal institutions and access to justice.