ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND EMERGING CLIMATE LITIGATION IN INDIA AFTER COP28: LEGAL FRAMEWORKS AND CASE TRENDS
Abstract
Environmental justice has emerged as one of the most dynamic and transformative themes in twenty-firstcentury
jurisprudence, and in the context of India, it has assumed constitutional dimensions that blend
ecological protection with human rights and developmental equity. The significance of this relationship has
deepened considerably after the twenty-eighth Conference of the Parties (COP28) held in Dubai in December
2023, where nations collectively recognised that voluntary pledges were insufficient to arrest the intensifying
climate crisis. The inclusion of accountability mechanisms through the Global Stocktake and the
operationalisation of the Loss and Damage Fund have altered the nature of environmental governance,
making compliance a legal and moral imperative. India, which stands at the intersection of rapid economic
growth and ecological vulnerability, has consequently experienced an intensification of environmental
litigation that links climate change, constitutional rights, and public accountability. This research examines
the evolving nature of environmental justice and emerging climate litigation in India in the aftermath of
COP28, situating domestic developments within the global legal transformations of climate governance. It
argues that post-COP28, Indian environmental law has entered an era of legalisation and
institutionalisation, where courts, regulators, and civil society collectively mediate the climate question
through the grammar of justice, rights, and responsibility.
The present study adopts a comprehensive analytical framework integrating doctrinal, comparative, and
empirical dimensions. The doctrinal inquiry focuses on the judicial expansion of Article 21 of the
Constitution, which has been interpreted to encompass the right to a clean and healthy environment. The
comparative component examines the alignment of Indian environmental jurisprudence with international
principles such as intergenerational equity, precautionary principle, and polluter-pays doctrine reaffirmed
in COP28 negotiations. The empirical analysis draws from data compiled from the National Green Tribunal
(NGT), the Supreme Court’s environmental bench, and key High Courts between 2018 and 2024, revealing
a sharp escalation in climate-linked litigation. Cases addressing air pollution, renewable energy policy,
deforestation, and corporate ESG non-compliance have multiplied by nearly 250 percent during this period.
This unprecedented rise signifies a deep shift in the understanding of environmental justice—from a reactive
mechanism responding to environmental harm to a proactive system anticipating climate impacts and
enforcing preventive governance.
jurisprudence, and in the context of India, it has assumed constitutional dimensions that blend
ecological protection with human rights and developmental equity. The significance of this relationship has
deepened considerably after the twenty-eighth Conference of the Parties (COP28) held in Dubai in December
2023, where nations collectively recognised that voluntary pledges were insufficient to arrest the intensifying
climate crisis. The inclusion of accountability mechanisms through the Global Stocktake and the
operationalisation of the Loss and Damage Fund have altered the nature of environmental governance,
making compliance a legal and moral imperative. India, which stands at the intersection of rapid economic
growth and ecological vulnerability, has consequently experienced an intensification of environmental
litigation that links climate change, constitutional rights, and public accountability. This research examines
the evolving nature of environmental justice and emerging climate litigation in India in the aftermath of
COP28, situating domestic developments within the global legal transformations of climate governance. It
argues that post-COP28, Indian environmental law has entered an era of legalisation and
institutionalisation, where courts, regulators, and civil society collectively mediate the climate question
through the grammar of justice, rights, and responsibility.
The present study adopts a comprehensive analytical framework integrating doctrinal, comparative, and
empirical dimensions. The doctrinal inquiry focuses on the judicial expansion of Article 21 of the
Constitution, which has been interpreted to encompass the right to a clean and healthy environment. The
comparative component examines the alignment of Indian environmental jurisprudence with international
principles such as intergenerational equity, precautionary principle, and polluter-pays doctrine reaffirmed
in COP28 negotiations. The empirical analysis draws from data compiled from the National Green Tribunal
(NGT), the Supreme Court’s environmental bench, and key High Courts between 2018 and 2024, revealing
a sharp escalation in climate-linked litigation. Cases addressing air pollution, renewable energy policy,
deforestation, and corporate ESG non-compliance have multiplied by nearly 250 percent during this period.
This unprecedented rise signifies a deep shift in the understanding of environmental justice—from a reactive
mechanism responding to environmental harm to a proactive system anticipating climate impacts and
enforcing preventive governance.