Climate change litigation in South Africa has become increasingly common within environmental law enforcement, reflecting growing public awareness and legal action against climate-related issues. The research employs a mixed-methods approach combining case law analysis and stakeholder interviews. Data collection includes legal documents from court cases and semi-structured interviews with key players in environmental enforcement. A notable finding is that climate change litigation has led to significant changes in corporate behaviour, as evidenced by the adoption of more stringent emission reduction measures within companies under scrutiny. The study concludes that climate change litigation plays a crucial role in advancing environmental law enforcement but also highlights challenges such as inconsistent judicial decisions and resource allocation issues. Stakeholders recommend increased training for judges on climate science to enhance their understanding of climate-related cases, along with better coordination between government agencies and courts. The empirical specification follows Y=₀+^ X+, and inference is reported with uncertainty-aware statistical criteria.
Nthaliwe Mabuse (Sun,) studied this question.