It’s been interesting to observe how climate litigation has become a hot legal topic over the last few years. There are currently close to 3,000 climate change-related litigation cases globally, most of them in the US, with 33 in Australia.
Are you a lawyer already engaged in climate litigation or considering doing so? In that case, I challenge you to do the same kind of rigorous due diligence on the topic of climate change you would do in relation to any of the other matters you take on.
This entire new branch of litigation is based on the fundamental assumption that climate change is a threat and humans are responsible for it.
You will probably think that the science is settled. Everybody says so: Al Gore, Barack Obama, António Guterres, Greta Thunberg, most politicians, practically all of the media, and of course all scientists. They all say the CO2 humans emit is the cause why the Earth’s climate is out of kilter, and unless we cut emissions fast, we are doomed.
I don’t question your good intentions. Who doesn’t want to do the right thing by the environment? But you’re a lawyer. You’re intelligent and ambitious, you wear your heart on your sleeve for whatever cause you take on. On the other hand you’re also risk-averse, and part of your trade is to dot every i and cross every t to make sure you know all the possible arguments. Not doing so could have serious consequences, for your career and your clients. So you need to understand the subject matter as best you can. That means you don’t just rely on what your client tells you, or what you read in the news. You need to look at every issue you come across from all different angles.
Can you honestly say that you’ve done that with respect to climate change?
Have you done some serious research on whether it is actually true that 97% of scientists agree that climate change is dangerous and caused by humans?
Have you checked the veracity of the claim that human-made climate change has brought ice bears and the Great Barrier Reef to the brink of extinction?
Is it true that CO2 is the control knob for the Earth’s climate system?
Are hurricanes, droughts, floods and wildfires actually becoming more frequent and more dangerous?
How accurate are temperature records and how useful are climate models really?
Are glaciers and ice caps really melting away and will they disappear by the year … sorry, what’s the latest prediction?
I grew up in Switzerland in the 1970s and 1980s. In winter, I was able to ski from the top of the hill near my home right down to our backyard at an altitude of 500 metres. By the time I was a teenager it was impossible to do that. So within my own lifetime I’ve observed how the climate has changed in that tiny part of the world.
I also recall being completely confused about the messages in the media in the early 1980s. For years, the media had been talking up the imminent next ice age – we even learnt about it in school – and then, suddenly, it was all about global warming.
The trouble with us humans is that we have very short memories, and we are easily distracted by the latest shiny new theory or idea.
Still, I had no reason to doubt the new and commonly accepted ‘inconvenient truth’ about climate change. In 2008 I scratched my head when ClimateGate happened, but that was swiftly swept under the carpet. Fast forward a few years, and I felt that something definitely wasn’t quite right. Why so much persistent scaremongering? Why were scientists being cancelled for expressing other views?
I grew suspicious and my research instincts kicked in. I put on my critical thinking hat and with an open mind I began investigating the other side of climate science. It didn’t take me long to realise that things were not as clear as they are made out to be in the mainstream media. Digging deeper, I found a plethora of uncertainties and problems with just about every aspect of the dominant climate change narrative. Therefore, in my view there is no legitimate basis for climate change litigation.
I know, I’m not a scientist, and you might not be either. But you don’t need to be one to gain a solid understanding of any scientific issue.
So I encourage you to broaden your horizon, discover, explore, listen to the arguments of all sides, and come to your own conclusions. You may or may not change your mind, but at least you can say you’ve done your due diligence.
If you’re not sure where to find good resources, those on the Climate Discussion Nexus are a great starting point.
