Cornerstone Climate Goes Global
Planning and Environment, Cornerstone Climate, Public Law and Judicial Review
- Cornerstone Climate launches global series on climate litigation – Climate Litigation Lessons from Across the Globe will explore key cases shaping climate law across multiple jurisdictions, plus identifying new areas to pursue, culminating in an event at New York Climate Week 2025, co-hosted with Mishcon Purpose‘s climate litigation team.
- Climate litigation is on the rise – Cases have more than doubled since 2017, driving corporate accountability, government action, and environmental justice through courts worldwide.
- International courts play a growing role – Recent rulings from the ICJ, ITLOS, and IACHR signal a shift toward legal accountability for climate action, reinforcing litigation as a critical tool in the fight against climate change.
- Cornerstone Climate is a centre of excellence for climate litigation and advice founded in 2023 by Estelle Dehon KC, based at Cornerstone Barristers.
- Mishcon Purpose is Mishcon de Reya LLP’s specialist climate and sustainability business.
Cornerstone Climate is proud to announce its flagship Climate Litigation Lessons from Around the Globe series for 2025. This dynamic and timely series will bring together leading legal experts from multiple jurisdictions to examine key climate litigation cases and the evolving role of courts in addressing climate change, plus the identification of new areas to pursue. As one of the most exciting and fast-growing areas of law, climate litigation is shaping corporate accountability, government policy, and environmental justice worldwide.
Spanning seven months, the series will feature webinars focused on critical climate cases in Australia, India, Africa, Asia, and Europe, culminating in a final session, Climate Litigation Lessons from Brazil, held in-person and livestreamed from New York Climate Week (21-28 September 2025). The event will be co-hosted with Mishcon Purpose and co-organised with leading climate law scholars Joana Setzer (Grantham Research Institute, LSE) and Maria Antonia Tigre (Sabin Center, Columbia University).
The series will also help to identify new climate litigation claims. If you have a potential claim, feel free to email us with the details.
Why Climate Litigation?
Climate litigation is rapidly becoming a defining tool in the fight against climate change, with cases being brought against governments, corporations, and financial institutions to ensure compliance with climate commitments, hold polluters accountable, and establish new legal precedents. Courts around the world are playing an increasingly pivotal role in shaping environmental and human rights policies, with lawsuits tackling carbon budgets, greenwashing, and corporate responsibility.
“The surge in climate litigation reflects a global movement leveraging the power of law to enforce climate commitments and protect vulnerable communities,” said leading environmental barrister Nina Pindham who is organising the series for Cornerstone Climate. “This series will provide invaluable insights into emerging legal strategies.”
Climate Litigation Series: General Programme
- Climate Litigation Lessons from Australia – 27 March
Exploring key cases such as Sharma and Pabai Pabai, and discussing the evolving role of litigation in Australia’s climate policy landscape. Speakers include: Courtney Law (Grata Fund), Lara Douvartzidis (Net Zero Lawyers Association), Nicole Sommer (Environmental Defenders Office), Phoebe Roberts (Pollination Law) Stephanie Brenker (Barrister, Victoria Bar). Register here.
The remainder of the series is outlined as below. Registration details will be published nearer the time:
- Climate Litigation Lessons from India – April
- Climate Litigation Lessons from Kenya, Uganda, and Nigeria – Early May
- Climate Litigation Lessons from South Africa – Late May
- Climate Litigation Lessons from Japan and South Korea – June
- Climate Litigation Lessons from Ireland – July
- Climate Litigation Lessons from Norway – Early August
- Climate Litigation Lessons from Brazil – September
Exact dates for upcoming sessions will be announced soon. To receive updates, sign up for our newsletter here.
Cornerstone Climate’s Annual Climate Month
In addition to the litigation series, Cornerstone Climate will host its Annual Climate Month throughout September. This will include updated training sessions on critical climate law topics, building on the success of The Climate Masterclass, which launched last year and offers 16 hours of in-depth online climate law training for legal professionals.
About Cornerstone Climate
Founded in 2023 by Estelle Dehon KC, Cornerstone Climate is a cross-disciplinary legal practice focusing on climate litigation, regulatory compliance, and strategic climate-related legal advice. With expertise spanning planning, environmental, commercial, regulatory, and public law, Cornerstone Climate provides carbon-literate, high-impact legal solutions to clients at all levels, from government agencies to private enterprises and NGOs.
Cornerstone Climate’s barristers have played pivotal roles in landmark climate cases, including the UK’s 2024 Carbon Budget Delivery Plan challenge and the Finch litigation in the Supreme Court. Chambers is also involved in one of the world’s largest private environmental cases, the Mariana case concerning the Fundão Dam collapse in Brazil, a precedent-setting case for future climate litigation trends.
About Mishcon Purpose
Mishcon Purpose is Mishcon de Reya LLP’s specialist climate and sustainability business. It provides legal and governance advice to corporates engaging in the transition, and litigates to hold those who cause harm to account, to champion access to justice and to drive positive change. It does so leveraging the firm’s group actions claims management business SOMOS, and litigation funding networks. In 2023, Mishcon Purpose partnered with organisations from three leading academic institutions – the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), Imperial College London and the University of Oxford to launch the Climate Science and Law Forum.
