S1E80: “We’ll see you in court”: When climate change becomes a legal battle

  • 4 Jul 2022

Synopsis: Every first and third Monday of the month, The Straits Times analyses the beat of the changing environment, from biodiversity conservation to climate change.

Globally, there has been a surge in climate lawsuits against governments and companies for failing to act on climate change and for polluting the environment. And as climate impacts are felt more strongly, the number of cases is likely to rise, as vulnerable communities, youth and environmental groups turn to the courts to drive change and find solutions. 

In this episode, The Straits Times’ environment correspondent Audrey Tan and climate change editor David Fogarty discuss the rise of climate litigation with Mr Sean Tseng, a legal consultant for global NGO ClientEarth and an Adjunct Research Fellow at the Asia-Pacific Centre for Environmental Law in Singapore.

ClientEarth specialises in using the power of the law to take on powerful corporations and governments to force them to act on climate change, protect nature and reduce air pollution.

Highlights (click/tap above):

1:32 What is climate litigation?

7:08 Why are there more climate lawsuits being filed? 

12:16 How is ClientEarth approaching climate litigation in Asia? 

16:56 How does climate litigation work with other climate action strategies?

Produced by: Audrey Tan (audreyt@sph.com.sg), David Fogarty (dfogarty@sph.com.sg), Ernest Luis and Hadyu Rahim

Edited by: Hadyu Rahim

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