An Analysis Of Climate Information Disclosure Responsibilities Based On Climate Change Litigatio

According to the report Global Climate Litigation Report: A Review 2020,the number of climate change lawsuits had almost doubled by 1 July 2020,with at least1,550 climate change lawsuits filed in 38 countries.These include some 1,200 cases filed in the United States and more than 350 cases filed in all other countries.Three features are evident in these more than 1,000 cases:(1)the courts have become a major battleground in the fight against climate change;(2)human rights arguments are playing an increasing role in litigation;and(3)the number of cases involving environmental information disclosure has shown an increasing trend in recent years.This article begins with an analysis of the definition,classification and development of climate change litigation.Climate change litigation can be divided into six categories: litigation about climate rights;litigation seeking to enforce domestic climate laws;litigation seeking to keep fossil fuels in the ground;litigation about corporate liability and responsibility;litigation about climate adaptation;and litigation about climate disclosure and greenwashing.Focusing on the type of litigation on climate disclosure and greenwashing,this article selects more than 70 cases related to disclosure from more than 1,000 cases of climate litigation change,divides the cases into those with corporate defendants and those with government defendants depending on the defendant,and examines these cases separately to develop Chapters 2 and 3.Chapter 2 examines cases where the defendant is a company,and Chapter 3 examines cases where the defendant is a government.In cases where the government is the defendant,the court first examines the exempt information using the Vaughan index method,applying the principles of deliberative privilege,foreseeable harm,the public domain doctrine,severability and the public interest to determine the scope of the exempt information.If the government breaches its obligation to disclose climate information,the parties can seek redress through administrative review,or judicial remedy if they are not satisfied with the decision.Finally,the current legislative framework for climate information disclosure in China is sorted out,and based on the study of foreign cases,three suggestions are made for the construction of a climate information disclosure system in China:establishing the content of the framework for climate information disclosure;clarifying the scope of climate information disclosure;and constructing diversified remedies for breaching the duty to disclose information.