Growing numbers of lawsuits have been filed around the world aiming to secure compensation for the impacts of climate change or to compel governments to strengthen climate targets. Many of these cases make causal claims about the effect of defendants’ greenhouse gas emissions on plaintiffs, for which the right scientific evidence may be crucial. In this event, we will bring together pioneering lawyers to explore the different legal strategies being deployed to protect human rights from the impacts of climate change, and the role science can play in supporting them. We will also present new research findings from the Oxford Sustainable Law Programme on the role of attribution-science evidence in climate litigation.

Lavanya Rajamani, Professor of International Environmental Law, University of Oxford

Dennis van Berkel, Director, Climate Litigation Network & Legal Counsel, Urgenda Foundation

Fleur Ramsay, Special Counsel, International Programme & Chair of the First Nations and Indigenous Peoples Program Working Group, Environmental Defenders Office

Rupert Stuart-Smith, Associate Director, Oxford Sustainable Law Programme, University of Oxford

Following the panel discussion, we will introduce the work of the recently-launched Oxford Sustainable Law Programme (SLP). More details about the SLP are available on our website (https://www.smithschool.ox.ac.uk/research/sustainable-law/index.html) or by following us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheOxfordSLP

Attribution science and climate litigation: joining science and the law to protect human rights from climate change