Lawsuits Addressing Climate Change Are Seeing Mixed Results

In the battle to slow climate change, local and state governments, as well as citizens, have taken to the courts. Their results have varied, but the cases keep coming.

By , Professor of Law, Penn State

Kelsey Juliana, a lead plaintiff in a federal lawsuit over responsibility for climate change, speaks at a 2019 rally in Oregon. AP Photo/Steve Dipaola

The U.S. Supreme Court in March 2025 filed by a group of children who sought to hold the federal government responsible for some of the consequences of climate change. But just two months earlier, the justices allowed a similar suit from the city and county of Honolulu, Hawaii, to continue .

Evidence shows that , and the have known about climate change, its dangers and its human causes for at least 50 years. But the steps taken by and governments, , have international climate targets.

So local and state governments and citizens have asked the courts to force companies and public agencies to act. Their results have varied, with limited victories to date. But the .