Climate Litigation News Updates | November 17-21, 2025

The latest climate litigation news and case updates are continuously added to the Climate Court litigation tracker, keeping you informed about the most significant climate lawsuits, environmental protection cases, biodiversity litigation, and public health disputes worldwide. Our comprehensive database compiles detailed case summaries, original court filings, legal decisions, and ongoing updates from national and international courts. Whether you’re tracking corporate climate accountability cases, government climate policy challenges, or climate-related human rights lawsuits, Climate Court helps you stay current on the legal actions shaping the future of climate and environmental law.

Below you’ll find the latest climate litigation updates for this week, organised by day to help you follow the most recent developments in climate litigation. This overview is updated daily with new filings, court rulings, and legal actions from around the world, ensuring you never miss an important update. For previous weeks' updates, check out our Resources page.

Here’s a snapshot of the most recent updates added this week:

November 17

United States:

• U.S. Moves to Intervene in Challenge to Hawai‘i’s New “Green Fee,” Citing Violations of Federal Maritime Law: The U.S. government has asked to intervene in litigation over Hawai‘i’s new climate-impact “Green Fee,” arguing the law conflicts with federal maritime, commerce, and navigational-freedom statutes.

  
  

• Tyson Foods Agrees to Drop “Net-Zero” and “Climate-Smart Beef” Claims in Landmark Greenwashing Settlement: In a significant consumer-protection and sustainable marketing case, Tyson Foods has agreed to stop making climate-related claims about its beef products after advocates alleged widespread greenwashing.

November 18

Philippines:

• LRC Petitions Supreme Court to Strike Down DENR’s Restrictive FOI Rules Blocking Access to Environmental Records: The Legal Rights and Remedies Center is seeking Supreme Court review of environmental-records restrictions it says violate freedom-of-information guarantees and impede transparency in pollution and climate-related decision-making.

United States:

• Environmental Groups Sue FERC Over Grid Plan Favouring Fossil Fuels and Undervaluing Clean Energy: Clean-energy advocates filed a federal lawsuit arguing that FERC’s new grid-capacity accreditation rules artificially inflate the reliability value of coal and gas plants while penalising renewable resources.

November 19

United States:

• Ninth Circuit Temporarily Blocks California’s SB 261 Climate-Risk Disclosure Law Ahead of January Deadline: The Ninth Circuit has issued an emergency injunction pausing California’s climate-risk reporting mandate for large companies, intensifying legal uncertainty around emerging state climate-disclosure requirements.

• Environmental Groups Sue FERC Over Fast-Track Plan Favouring New Gas Plants: Green groups are challenging a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission fast-track infrastructure rule they say accelerates natural-gas expansion, undermines clean-energy deployment, and threatens long-term grid reliability.

  
  

• Environmental Groups Sue New York DEC for Reversing Course and Approving NESE Pipeline Despite Ongoing Water Quality Risks: Environmental advocates filed suit accusing New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation of unlawfully greenlighting the controversial NESE gas pipeline after previously citing persistent water-quality, habitat, and coastal-resilience concerns.

  
  

• Montana Groups Sue NorthWestern Energy Over Data Center Power Costs, Warn of Higher Bills and Fossil Fuel Reliance: Consumer and environmental groups are challenging NorthWestern Energy’s data-center energy agreements, arguing the utility is shifting massive power costs to ratepayers and locking Montana into decades of fossil-fuel dependence.

  
  

• Groups Sue to Block Trump Administration’s 80-Million-Acre Gulf Oil Lease Sale Over Illegal Shortcutting of Environmental Review: A coalition of Gulf and national organisations is suing to halt an unprecedented offshore oil-and-gas lease sale, alleging the administration bypassed required NEPA climate, wildlife, and spill-risk analysis.

November 20

Europe:

• Austria Appeals EU Ruling on Nuclear Energy as “Sustainable”: Austria challenges the EU decision labelling nuclear power as sustainable under the Taxonomy framework. The appeal may influence EU energy policy, low-carbon investments, and regulatory interpretations of climate-friendly energy

Kenya:

• Kenyan Court Clears Taifa Gas to Build Africa’s Largest LPG Terminal: Kenya’s court approved Taifa Gas to develop the continent’s largest LPG terminal in Mombasa, boosting regional energy infrastructure and supply security.

Spain:

• ClientEarth and Oceana Sue Spain Over Bottom Trawling in MPAs: ClientEarth and Oceana filed suit against Spain for permitting bottom trawling in marine protected areas, in an ongoing conflict between fishing operations and ocean conservation.

United Kingdom:

• UK Supreme Court to Hear Case on Cost Caps for Environmental Lawsuits: A dispute over whether environmental cases are entitled to capped legal costs will be heard by the UK Supreme Court after the government sought to remove the Aarhus costs cap from a challenge to the UK-Australia trade.

United States:

• Court Upholds Maine’s GPS-Tracking Rule for Lobster Fleet: A court upheld Maine’s GPS-tracking requirement for lobster vessels, supporting climate-resilient fisheries and sustainable marine resource management.

November 21

Lesotho:

• Lesotho Communities File Complaint Over Water Transfer Project, Claim Greenwashing: Lesotho communities have lodged a complaint with the African Development Bank, alleging the Lesotho Highlands Water Project harms local livelihoods and ecosystems while being promoted as a climate mitigation initiative.

United Kingdom:

• Shell Jackdaw Gas Field Could Emit CO₂ Equal to 20 Million Cars, Legal Challenge Reveals: Shell disclosed that its Jackdaw gas field may generate 36 million tonnes of CO₂, including Scope 3 emissions, after a legal challenge by Greenpeace UK and Uplift.

All of this week's updates have been logged in the Climate Court litigation tracker, where subscribers can access detailed summaries, original filings, and real-time updates on climate and environmental litigation cases from around the world.

Tracking these cases is crucial for businesses, legal professionals, organisations, and policymakers, as climate litigation increasingly shapes corporate sustainability practices, climate compliance, and risk management strategies. Staying informed helps companies anticipate legal challenges. Lawyers and consultants can use these insights to advise clients, while investors, NGOs, and the public can monitor how litigation drives accountability. Following global trends in climate lawsuits and environmental justice cases ensures that stakeholders remain proactive and prepared.