In China, climate litigation starts with the state

With thousands of dedicated courts and more than a million recent cases, environmental and climate litigation is booming in China, but it often looks different to the trend seen elsewhere.

Instead of a movement led by activists and NGOs, in China climate litigation is dominated by state prosecutors seeking to enforce existing regulations, rather than encourage government climate ambition.

Globally, domestic and international courts have become a new arena in the fight to pressure governments on climate.

Perhaps their most high-profile win came in July at the International Court of Justice, where countries were told they had a legal duty to tackle climate change.

In China though, cases tend to focus on regulatory enforcement and NGOs and activists are largely shut out.

"Courts in China