(Bloomberg) -- Companies accused of misrepresenting their progress on tackling climate change are increasingly finding themselves the target of litigants, as activist groups look to hold some of the world’s worst polluters to account. 

As many as 47 new climate washing cases were filed in 2023 against companies and governments around the globe, according to a new report from the London School of Economics’ Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment.

Around 70% of the cases concluded between 2016 and 2023 ended in the claimants’ favor, according to the report. Regulators around the world have also been trying to clamp down on the climate washing. The annual report analyzes a database of 2,666 climate litigation cases compiled by the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia.

Litigation is a crucial part of the toolkit to force companies and governments to account for their climate promises and to galvanize action to slow global warming. Rulings in favor of claimants can have a far-reaching impact far beyond the specific case. 

A landmark ruling from the European Court of Human Rights this year found that Switzerland failed to protect its citizens from the ravages of climate change, following a case brought by a group of elderly Swiss women. 

Elsewhere, the UK government’s net zero strategy was found lacking for the second time by a London judge in May. The same month the German government was told for a second time its climate program doesn’t fully meet legal requirements.

On Thursday, German’s top court ruled against a confectioner, which called its candy “climate neutral.” The judges said that in the area of environmental advertising — like with health claims — the risk of misleading is particularly high. Companies need to explain what’s backing the claim and whether they reduce emissions or simply offset them. 

“Reducing and offsetting emissions aren’t equivalent for achieving climate neutrality,” the German judges said. “Reduction takes priority over offsetting.”

Over 2023 some 233 new climate-related cases were filed worldwide, with cases in the Global South gaining traction. A ruling by the Supreme Court of India established a new constitutional right to be free from the adverse effects of climate change.

“Whether climate litigation is advancing or hindering climate action remains difficult to determine,” said Catherine Higham and Joanna Setzer, the authors of the report. “Some types of cases, such as government framework cases, have already had lasting impacts on domestic climate governance.”

 

 

--With assistance from Upmanyu Trivedi.

(Updates with German top court ruling in seventh paragraph.)

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