A Story Part Told: The Role of Courts in Climate Governance

Abstract A recurrent question in climate litigation is that of the appropriate judicial role. This article offers some reflections, based on the evidence that may be gleaned from developments thus far, on the possibilities and limits of the judicial role on climate governance. In order to be able to properly address this question, it begins by briefly mapping the principal ways in which courts have been involved in climate governance to date, taking examples from different jurisdictions, with a particular focus on the case law from within Europe. On the basis of this overview, it identifies a number of prevailing themes and particular areas of difficulty in the case law where the limits of the judicial role have been apparent. Against this context, the article reflects upon the question: should judges make climate change law?