ABSTRACT
In July 2023, planet Earth’s hottest ever month until the hottest year that followed, the Court of Appeal gave judgment in McGaughey and Davies v Universities Superannuation Scheme Ltd and its Directors [2023] EWCA Civ 873. This had become the UK’s largest crowdfunded case yet, and the first attempt to sue a board of directors personally for duties on climate damage. While action to reverse a series of pension cuts succeeded out of court, the action to divest fossil fuels did not, and the Court of Appeal ruled against the claimants on procedure. This case note explains the reasoning, and critically engages with the judges’ arguments based on domestic and international standards. Similar to the European Court of Human Rights’ finding in Klimaseniorinnen v Switzerland [2024] ECHR 304, the Court of Appeal failed to engage meaningfully with any substantive submissions on fossil fuel divestment and human rights. Although the case lost, it set an important positive precedent and provides valuable lessons for the future wave of litigation against directors complicit in climate damage, which will accelerate the end of fossil fuels.
McGaughey, Ewan, Divesting Fossil Fuels, Directors’ Duties, and Derivative Claims (February 4, 2025).
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