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Sustainability Insights Research: Climate Litigation: Assessing Potential Impacts Remains Complex

This research explores trends in climate litigation since S&P Global Ratings published “Climate Change Litigation: The Case For Better Disclosure And Targets,” on Oct. 6, 2021. It also aims to achieve a better understanding of the potential influence of climate litigation on the creditworthiness of issuers and when such exposure might translate into a material financial impact. We found that, although climate-related lawsuits were historically mainly in the U.S., they are now being filed across the globe, with various approaches and in a larger number of economic sectors. The overall volume of climate litigation has increased exponentially over the past 10 years. Despite a slowdown in new case filings since a peak in 2021, we expect the trend to continue.

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