Enhancing corporate climate change accountability through public interest litigation: peril or promise?” - AENEAS Guest Lecture

Scheduled for Wednesday, March 19, at 3 p.m., is the first “AENEAS Guest Lecture” series featuring international experts. The guest speaker is Elbert de Jong, professor of Private Law at Utrecht University, with a lecture entitled “Enhancing corporate climate change accountability through public interest litigation: peril or promise?”.

The lesson is part of the course “Climate Justice and Due Diligence: Concept and Practice” and of the activities of the AENEAS Jean Monnet Module. The event will be held in English. 

Abstract

In recent years, civil law has been explored as a means to enhance corporate accountability for climate change. The most well-known example is the Dutch climate case against Shell. Similar cases can be found in Germany (e.g., against car manufacturers) and Italy (e.g., against ENI). These cases are clear examples of public interest litigation: they are often brought to court not only to assess the need for legal protection between the litigating parties, as is typically the case in civil law proceedings, but also to drive changes in corporate climate change governance and corporate greenhouse gas emissions. Because of this characteristic, these cases often spark debates about the role of civil courts in shaping climate change accountability. Some emphasize the autonomous role of civil courts in this context, while others argue that civil courts lack both the capacity and legitimacy to undertake this task. Climate cases thus raise fundamental questions about the judicial role in shaping corporate climate accountability. More specifically, the question is how the law-making role of civil courts is defined in relation to the legislator and society at large, considering the procedural and substantive civil law aspects of these cases. This lecture will explore three critical law-making issues arising in climate change cases aimed at enhancing corporate climate change accountability. It will address the division of responsibilities between courts and government in regulating corporations, the relevance of the effectiveness, and the (potential) societal impact and consequences of climate change litigation.