Towards Climate Democracies? Legal Systems’ Adaptation to Climate Change Litigation

The fight against global warming and its tragic effects has become a political issue. Climate change litigation arose as an important way to pursue this value, but it could also lead to significative changes in legal systems. In climate change litigation cases, international law becomes the main ground for claiming domestic remedies – especially those of tort law – that may undergo relevant modifications, putting also into discussion EU legal standards. Courts seem to be playing – even in Civil Law countries – a quasi-legislative role through trials, at the end of which they order governments or legislatures to adopt new mitigation policies. But effective enforcement tools are still to be shaped. This contribution focuses on the need to govern these aspects of climate change litigation in order to create real climate democracies.