New Addition to our Climate Litigation Database: Asghar Leghari v. Federation of Pakistan

We’re excited to announce that the Climate Court Climate Litigation Database has been updated with one of the most significant climate justice cases from the Global South: Asghar Leghari v. Federation of Pakistan. This is a case that dealt with issues including climate change, human rights, and government accountability, and offers a model for rights-based climate litigation worldwide.

Subscribers accessing the database can explore a detailed analysis of the case, including its background, social and environmental context, and the broader implications for climate governance. The case arose from Pakistan’s urgent climate vulnerabilities, including recurring floods, droughts, and threats to water, food, and energy security, alongside gaps in the implementation of national climate policy frameworks.

This litigation is particularly notable as one of the first cases in the Global South to explicitly link governmental inaction on climate change to constitutional rights and to frame climate adaptation and mitigation as matters of climate justice. Leghari showed that courts have an important role to play in ensuring that governments are committed to effective climate resilience, especially when it comes to populations that are most vulnerable to climate change.

By adding Leghari v. Federation of Pakistan to our climate litigation database, we provide researchers, policymakers, and practitioners with insights into how domestic courts can operationalise international climate principles, integrate scientific evidence into judicial oversight, and influence both policy and societal responses to climate change. Whether you are exploring trends in rights-based climate claims, understanding climate justice in the Global South, or monitoring the impact of national climate policies, the database now includes a critical example of judicial engagement in one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable countries.

Explore the case and stay up to date on global climate litigation by accessing the Climate Court Climate Litigation Database today.