ABSTRACT
In tort law based mitigation litigation against corporations macro effects play a central role. Macro effects are effects of litigation that are felt by non-litigants (ie, third parties). This chapter discusses three levels of macro effects that can be created by mitigation litigation. They can be 1) implied in a court ruling, 2) relate to the implementation of a reduction obligation, and thus to norm-compliant behavior and 3) relate to the broader social, political and economic conditions that shape climate policies. The chapter discusses four empirical challenges that courts face when they want to take the potential macro effects of their (intended) ruling into account. These challenges relate to the lack of generic available knowledge about the effects of climate change litigation on (corporate) climate change governance, methodological issues that arise when obtaining insights into the relationship between the occurrence of macro effects and litigation, the fact that civil courts are to a great extent dependent on the parties for providing reliable and adequate empirical knowledge, and challenges related to assessing and understanding the relevance of empirical knowledge about macro effects.
de Jong, Elbert, Macro Effects in Tort Law Based Corporate Climate Change Mitigation Cases (March 11, 2024).
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