2nd Dr. Justice Radhabinod Pal Memorial National Moot Court Competition 2026

The question of corporate liability for climate change has evolved from a fringe academic debate into one of the most consequential frontiers of transnational litigation and regulation. Since the 1990s, scientific attribution studies—most notably Richard Heede's 'Carbon Majors' research—have traced a significant share of historical industrial greenhouse gas emissions to a relatively small set of fossil fuel and cement producers. This evidentiary base, combined with growing recognition of climate change as a human rights issue under instruments such as the Paris Agreement (2015), UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (2011), and UN General Assembly Resolution 76/300 recognising the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, has reshaped the legal landscape in which corporations operate. The core dispute concerns whether, and on what doctrinal basis, private corporations can be held legally accountable for harms caused by greenhouse gas emissions that are lawful at the point of release but cumulatively catastrophic. Landmark proceedings—Milieudefensie v. Royal Dutch Shell (Hague District Court, 2021), Lliuya v. RWE (pending before German courts), Massachusetts v. EPA (2007), and the Philippines Commission on Human Rights Carbon Majors Inquiry (2022)—have probed theories ranging from tort and nuisance to human rights due diligence and securities-disclosure fraud. Parallel regulatory developments, including the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (2024), the SEC climate disclosure rules, and ISSB sustainability standards, are converging on mandatory climate-risk reporting and supply-chain accountability. Today the issue sits at the intersection of international environmental law, tort law, corporate governance, and human rights. The ICJ's advisory opinion on States' climate obligations (2024–25) and the ITLOS advisory opinion on marine climate obligations (2024) have intensified pressure to translate state duties into corresponding corporate responsibilities. Unresolved questions include the extraterritorial reach of due-diligence statutes, causation standards for diffuse harms, the legitimacy of 'greenwashing' claims, and whether climate litigation should rely on domestic courts, international arbitration, or a new dedicated forum.