He further highlighted a paper presented by Justice AK Sikri, former Supreme Court judge, at the 4th Round Table Conference in Durham, wherein he had referred to the Grantham Report on Climate Change and Environment.
The report spoke about the increased climate change litigation and pointed out that more than 1,000 climate related cases were filed in 2015 in comparison to over 800 cases filed between 1986 and 2014.
Citing these statistics, Justice Viswanathan emphasised as to how climate change litigation was earlier considered unsuccessful but that trend was now slowly changing.
“As per the Grantham Report (referred by Justice Sikri in his paper), in nearly 370 decided cases, outcome favored climate change action in around 58 per cent, it was unafavorable for around 32 per cent and (there was) no clear impact in 10 per cent. Have courts internationally vested any positive obligation on the State enforceable under Paris Agreement etc? Our Courts have already laid the foundation by saying that there is right to a safe environment away from the adverse effects of climate change,” Justice Viswanathan stated.
Source: Barandbench
