The fight against climate change has taken a new direction, with young activists turning to the courts in a push for environmental justice. Across the globe, youth-led climate lawsuits have gained prominence demanding governments and corporations to take more meaningful action to protect the planet for future generations.

 South Korean Constitutional Court in Seoul, in the first climate litigation ruling in Asia has been reviewing complaints from more than 200 plaintiffs about the government GHG reduction targets and implementation plans being insufficient to protect the rights of people and future generations,. The court ruled just recently that South Korea's Carbon Neutral Act needs to set firm carbon reduction targets between 2031 and 2050, as setting a goal for carbon neutrality by 2050 is not enough to effectively address climate change impacts. One-third of the complaints were from children and teenagers.

This follows many other landmark cases across the world  highlighting a few in recent years

• the EU Court of Human Rights ruled earlier this year in favour of more than 2,000 Swiss women that the Swiss government had violated the human rights of its citizens by failing to do enough to combat climate change
• In the US, a group of young activists in Montana scored a groundbreaking victory in August 2023 when a Montana court ruled that the state had violated their constitutional right to a "clean and healthful environment" by promoting fossil fuel development. The youths argued that the state’s continued support for fossil fuels not only exacerbated the climate crisis but also directly harmed their futures.
• In Hawaii, a group of children secured another groundbreaking climate victory in June 2024,where they successfully argued that the state had failed to meet its obligations to protect the environment, particularly from the impacts of climate change on vulnerable populations, including children and indigenous communities.

The success of these lawsuits shows a global shift in how climate change is addressed in legal systems, with more young people, communities, vulnerable and indigenous groups playing a key role.

The Global Climate Litigation Report from 2023 acknowledges this trend hand has noted that the total number of court cases focused on climate action has more than doubled since 2017 and is growing worldwide. 

This shift highlights the importance of the rule of law and enforcing accountability which can drive positive outcomes and push stakeholders to adopt common strategies and more ambitious climate impact reduction measures.