TOOL SEAnspiration: Ocean Defenders - Pioneering Climate Litigations

In the featured insight list series by TOOL, we present an overview of legal ocean defenders who inspire us. We encourage you to comment and tip us about other ocean advocates we should include onwards - and look forward to seeing a new generation of lawyers combining their environmental & ocean passion with legal framework to help push our world in the right direction, utilising the power of climate litigations and holding corporations and governments accountible.

The Power & Potentials of Climate Litigations

Based on the history of people versus the tobacco industry, we have a firm belief that climate litigations will be one of the most effective and powerful instruments for enforcing the rights of humans, nature and our planet. We encourage you to learn more about the topic, and dive into key global trends in climate change litigation here - from LSE´s launch of the Grantham Research Institute´s 2023 Report.

You can explore the Columbia Law School open database tracking cases here

Change makers & Role models:

Our inspirational role models across legal defenders is not a complete nor scientifically selected list. It´s simply a group of climate defenders we follow and gain inspiration from - representing a diverse group ref to age, gender, regional representation and from across different types of organisations.

We hope you enjoy the read - and recommend you to follow these change makers and their organisations.

Rosa Pritchard is a lawyer on ClientEarth's Plastics Team, pushing for better regulation of unnecessary single-use plastics, better transparency in the plastic supply chain and improved corporate accountability for the environmental, health and financial costs of plastics. She is part of the team filing a lawsuit against Danone (Top10 plastic polluter globally) over its plastic pollution, and lack of living up to its duties under the French Duty of Vigilance law - a join litigation uniting Surfrider Foundation Europe, Zero Waste France and ClientEarth. She´s also working to raise awareness among companies and investors of the financial risks faced by companies' whose business models depend on single-use plastic.

Corrie Yackulic - is co-chair of the Climate Change Litigation Group of American Association for Justice. She has represented Honolulu County and its Board of Water Supply against Big Oil. In its lawsuit, filed in 2020, Honolulu said the companies knew for decades that burning fossil fuels would lead to climate change, but worked to conceal that fact from the public. Honolulu said heat waves linked to climate change had already stressed the local electrical grid, and that a wastewater treatment plant would need to be retrofitted against sea level rise at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars, among other harms. It sought to hold the companies responsible for those costs, though it did not give an exact damages figure. Hawaii´s Supreme Court has decided the case can go to court.

The oil giants have tried to block the lawsuits with all means possible, and this year asked U.S. Supreme Court to scrap the decision. If left standing, the Hawaii Supreme Court's decision could allow Honolulu's case to be the first of such lawsuits to go to trial. Corrie is also assisting some of the California cities in their lawsuits against oil companies - and draw the parallel between the current cases against big oil to the tobacco suits of the ´90s. Corrie is Of Counsel at Sher Edling, bringing decades of effective, mission-driven litigation experience to the firm’s climate damage and deception cases. Corrie is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and has served as an instructor for the National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA). Recognized as a Top 100 Super Lawyer in the State of Washington, Corrie has been named one of Washington’s Top 50 Female Attorneys for many years.

Jenny Sandvig - is a partner at Simonsen Vogt Wiig, and argued on behalf of the environmental organisations Greenpeace Nordic and Natur og Ungdom (Young Friends of the Earth Norway) in "The new climate lawsuit in Norway", part of a larger movement to hold states and corporations accountable for the climate and nature crisis. The NGO´s won against the Norwegian government in January 2024 (appealed by the Government). The organisations believed that the state has violated Norwegian law and the requirements of the Supreme Court by not assessing the climate impact of approving three new oil and gas fields in the North Sea and that the best interests of children have not been taken into account. The organisations asserted that the development violates both Norway’s Constitution and international human rights law and must be stopped immediately. The environmental organisations also filed for a temporary injunction for the three projects.

While the NGO´s lost the first climate litigation, their most recent win marks a milestone for nature and future generations.

Sophie Marjanac & James Thornton - mobilise change from within one of the world´s most ambitious environmental organisations. Their entire team of lawyers and policy experts are dedicated to protecting life on Earth. They have 140+ active cases across 60+ countries, tackling the most pressing environmental challenges, and use the law to create systemic change. ClientEarth founder James Thornton was a Wall Street lawyer who won over 80 cases to force the Reagan Administration to clean up polluted water. Then he moved to London, and ClientEarth was born. They set up the Sustainable Seafood Coalition back in 2011, and launched their climate litigation team in 2014. In 2021, they won the right for all people to challenge the EU in court on decisions that break environmental law, followed by launching the Greenwashing Files. Sophie Marjanac leads their Accountable Corporations Sub-Group, which focusses on strategic litigation and other legal interventions to drive companies towards operating within planetary boundaries. She was the lead lawyer in the ground-breaking Torres Strait Climate Case, which was the first climate case to be brought against the Australian Government on human rights grounds.

Julian Aguon - A native son of Guam, Julian founded his own law firm at the age of 28 to advocate for the myriad peoples of the Pacific region. He is a human rights lawyer breaking new ground at the intersection of international indigenous rights and environmental law. His firm, Blue Ocean Law, works across multiple jurisdictions and develops innovative legal strategies to advance the self-determination struggles of native and non-self-governing peoples. Barred in Guam, Palau, and the Marshall Islands, Julian has provided counsel for governments, civil society organizations, and national liberation movements. His projects have included working with the Marshall Islands to seek redress for the harms of nuclear testing, fighting to protect the land rights of the indigenous peoples of the Northern Mariana Islands, and providing lawmakers from small island states with legal and regulatory tools to better protect their natural resources. Currently, Julian is working with the Pacific Network on Globalisation to ensure protection of indigenous rights as the emergent deep sea mining industry lays claims throughout Melanesia – in Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, and Vanuatu. In his own Guam, Julian serves as legal counsel to the Legislature and was appointed Special Assistant Attorney General to defend the decolonization process, specifically the right of the native inhabitants of Guam to freely choose their political status. Julian was named a “human rights hero” by the Petra Foundation for his work advancing the rights of his own and other Pacific peoples.

He has published numerous books and law articles on a range of international law and human rights issues. Julian’s most recent article, published in the Harvard Environmental Law Review, identifies the potential social and environmental impacts of deep sea mining and advocates for a comprehensive and rights-protective regulatory regime.

Elise Johansen - is Professor at The Arctic University of Norway (UiT) and Partner at Wikborg Rein is author of The Law of the Sea and Climate Change - Solutions and Constrains. Elise is one of Norway's leading lawyers in sustainability-, climate- and environmental law. Elise's field of expertise is international and national climate- and environmental law and the law of the sea, including the legal development within the EU. Elise has a background as a professor of law at the Arctic University of Norway and has extensive experience as a teacher and researcher. She regularly writes articles in international and national journals and books and is a recognized speaker. Among her publications are: "The legal interactions between the climate change and law of the sea regimes", ( Routledge, 2022) "Climate Change and the Arctic: adapting to threats and opportunities in Arctic marine waters (Research Handbook on Climate Change, Oceans and Coasts, Edward Elgar, 2021), "The Law of the Sea and Climate Change – Solutions or Constraints?" (Cambridge University Press, 2020).

Dr. Anna von Rebay - is the founder of Ocean Vision Legal, and represented clients in 80+ court proceedings before establishing how to hold States accountable for their marine protection obligations in her doctoral thesis. She is recognised as the leading expert for Marine Protection and Ocean Litigation by institutions such as the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, where she is invited as a keynote speaker to share her expertise. Ocean Vision Legal is on a mission is to safeguard the Ocean through law, and under two Action Areas; Holding actors (States & companies) accountable for their marine protection obligations by enforcing them in courts (Ocean Litigation); and championing the establishment of ground-breaking legislation that recognises the legal Rights of the natural World (Ocean Rights & Ecocide). Her colleague, legal councel Michelle Bender is a leading expert in Earth law and Rights of Nature (RoN), has contributed to RoN laws globally and founded 'Ocean Rights'. Specializing in sea otter conservation and addressing deep-sea mining threats, she's an advisory board member for the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature and was recognized as a top Youth Ocean Leader.

Matt O´Malley - is the former Executive Director & Managing Attorney of San Diego Coastkeeper, and Alternate Commissioner of California Coastal Commission. Matt represented the Coastkeepers as they (alongside Surfrider Foundation) sued the City of San Diego some years back, and were able to reduce sewage spills into waterways by 90%. As part of the settlement, the city invested billions of dollars to upgrade infrastructure. In the subsequent years, beach closures went down by 70%. (The City of San Diego would later congratulate itself on taking the initiative to make these improvements, omitting the impetus set in motion by San Diego Coastkeeper.)   

Kavita Modi - senior associate at Leigh Day, and part of the core team leading the claim against Shell being held legally responsible for pollution in the Niger Delta caused by its Nigerian subsidiary. This summed up to an eight-year battle by the Ogale and Bille communities to hold Shell accountable for oil pollution destroying local territories, experiencing numerous technical issues and attempts to delay and narrow the claims and process, by Shell. Last year the British High Court dismissed Shell´s arguments.

Isaac Moriwake - Earthjustice Mid-Pacific Office Lead, fights to ensure that Hawaiʻi’s cultural and environmental values are reflected in the law.

Rob Bonta - California Attorney General, leads "Clash of the Titans" - the People of the State of California versus Big Oil, suing oil giants for more than 50 years of deception, cover-up and billions of dollars in harm done on their state. He recently intensified his legal fight against five of the world's largest fossil fuel companies, filing an amended complaint that accuses Exxon Mobil, Shell, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, BP, and the American Petroleum Institute of engaging in a prolonged campaign of deception about the realities of climate change and the environmental damage caused by fossil fuels. In the original lawsuit, the state accused the companies and the American Petroleum Institute of knowing since at least the 1960s that fossil fuel combustion would significantly warm the planet and alter the climate. Despite this knowledge, the companies denied and cast doubt on climate science in their public statements and marketing efforts, the plaintiffs say. The new complaint builds on these claims by highlighting recent examples of deceptive environmental marketing, or "greenwashing," where companies falsely portray their products and operations as environmentally friendly.

Joie Chowdhury - Senior Attorney, Climate & Energy Program at the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL). Among her primary areas of focus, she contributes to CIEL’s work in support of the advisory opinions on climate change that have been requested from several international tribunals – the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR), and the International Court of Justice (ICJ). For almost 20 years she has worked in human rights litigation, advocacy and research in several countries, including India, Kosovo, the United States and Switzerland. Joie has taught courses on the role of strate- gic litigation in the realization of economic, social and cultural rights.

The European Court of Human Rights was established in the decade following World War II but has grown in importance over the last generation. As the judicial arm of the Council of Europe, an international human rights organization, the court’s rulings are binding on the council’s 46 members, spanning all of Europe and numerous countries on its borders.

As a result, the recent Swizz ruling will help elevate climate litigation from a country-by-country battle to one that stretches across continents.

The definition-shifting decision from the European Court of Human Rights means nearly 50 governments representing almost 700 million people will now have to contend with a new era of litigation from climate-stricken communities alleging inaction. 

Erik Bilsky - is Oceana’s Senior Attorney and Assistant General Counsel. Mr. Bilsky has fought for marine conservation in a range of cases and issues. He has worked with Oceana since its founding in 2001. Prior to joining Oceana, Mr. Bilsky served as an attorney with the Ocean Law Project at Earthjustice and a Legal Practice Professor at the University of Michigan Law School.

Bilsky’s work to protect marine wildlife from the impacts of destructive fishing and climate change pollution includes advocacy for an international trade agreement to prohibit overfishing subsidies, litigation and advocacy to protect marine habitat from destructive fishing, participation in the landmark Oct. 3, 2007, petition to the EPA to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from marine shipping, and Oceana’s November 15, 2007, petition to protect the U.S. Atlantic loggerhead sea turtle from threats from fishing fleets and global climate change.

Angela Howe - newly appointed Deputy Attorney General at California Department of Justice. She has been the legal director of the Surfrider Foundation, overseeing and managing all legal actions and legislative advocacy, to assist grassroots chapters with beach access, marine debris and ocean protection campaigns. Among their key wins are the settlement with USIBWC to mitigate raw sewage and toxic chemicals in San Diego area and cleanup of Tijuana River. Surfrider Foundation and their coalition of environmental Gulf community groups also filed a lawsuit directly countering the oil industry´s legal challenge of the Dept. of Interior´s 5y Offshore Leasing Program - exposing grave concerns with the plan regarding climate, public health, and the environment.

Howe is Professor of Ocean & Coastal Law at University of San Diego. Howe served as Chair of the Clean Seas Coalition for seven years, and has authored various articles on sea level rise and seawall permitting and other coastal legal issues.

Steve Mashuda - Managing Attorney for Oceans, and Attorney Brettny Hardy at Earthjustice. Case against National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOOA) for proposing sesmic airgun surveys with minimal protections for marine animals. Reached a settlement pausing oil & gas leasing in whale habitat and slowing vessel traffic for Gulf of Mexico Rice´s whales on brink of extinction, while officials re-evaluate protection measures.

Andrew Sharpless - CEO of Oceana since 2003. Oceana, founded in late 2001, has grown in that time to be the largest international conservation organization fully dedicated to protecting the oceans. Oceana was launched by five ocean-conservation philanthropies, including Pew Charitable Trusts, Marisla and the Oak Foundation of Geneva and is still primarily funded by such groups.

In 2002, Oceana merged with the American Oceans Campaign, founded by actor and environmentalist Ted Danson, to more effectively address a common mission of protecting and restoring the world’s oceans. Under Andrew´s leadership, Oceana and its allies have protected nearly 4 million square miles of habitat and won more than 250 significant policy victories. Among them - the 2022 legislation banning and removing the U.S. from global shark fin trade.

Oceana campaigns have banned bottom trawling and offshore oil exploration in Belize, helping to protect the world’s second-largest barrier reef system. Other victories have preserved unique habitats in Chile, made the seafood trade more transparent, and helped combat illegal fishing around the globe. Sharpless also led Oceana through the development and launch of Global Fishing Watch, an online platform that offers the first free global view of commercial fishing, in partnership with SkyTruth and Google.

Hallie Templeton - Legal Director at Friends of the Earth, managing and advancing the organization’s legal portfolio and fights to stop the expansion of offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. Previously, Hallie was a staff attorney in the Animal Protection Litigation group of The Humane Society of the United States, where she litigated against federal agencies over unlawful actions that impacted animal health and welfare. Hallie has also worked on civil rights cases in the Georgetown Institute for Public Representation.

Arnold Loughman - Attorney General of Vanuatu has taken up the battle of the future of future generations. He is currently leading Vanuatu’s participation and international coordination in the International Court of Justice’s Advisory Opinion on States obligations in relation to climate change. In the historic initiative, leaders of 9 small island states took ocean protection case to UN Court, asking the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) to determine if carbon dioxide emissions absorbed by the oceans can be considered pollution, and if so, what obligations countries have to prevent it. Their point and mission was to force countries to implement substantive measures against climate change. The move at the U.N. had been led by Vanuatu, and we are in total awe as these island state leaders demonstrate true leadership.

Joana Setzer - Associate Professor at Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change & the Environment, London School of Economics. Through a partnership with Sabine Center of Climate Change Law at Columbia University, the research centers have gained a worldwide knowing reputation for monitoring all the climate change litigations in numbers and, by doing so, reinforcing the role of the judicialization of the most pressing climate change issues of current times.

Francesco Sindico (Uni Strathclyde), Dr. Kate McKenzie (C2LI), Gastón Medici-Colombo (Uni Barcelona) and Lennart Wegener (Uni Göttingen), has co-edited the book "Edward Elgar Research Handbook on Climate Change Litigation" - aiming to provide a practice-oriented perspective. Published 10 June 2024

These hard working people are just a few of a new generation of professionals utilising law to protect our oceans, planet and future generations.

We also recommend you to explore Katrina Dewey & Lawdragon´s list of 500 Leading Environmental & Energy Lawyers, from 2021.