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Acts of God, human influence and litigation

Nature Geoscience volume 10, pages 616–619 (2017)Cite this article

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Developments in attribution science are improving our ability to detect human influence on extreme weather events. By implication, the legal duties of government, business and others to manage foreseeable harms are broadening, and may lead to more climate change litigation.

Advances in the science of extreme weather event attribution have the potential to change the legal landscape in novel ways. Identifying the human influence in events once known as 'acts of God' is likely to inform litigation relating to claims and liability for damages. Attribution science is also leading to better predictions of the expected severity of certain types of weather-related natural disasters. Such a shift in our understanding of extreme events could have legal implications for decision-makers with a duty to manage foreseeable harm and plan for the future.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. ClientEarth, 274 Richmond Road, Martello St Entrance, E8 3QW, London, UK

    Sophie Marjanac & James Thornton

  2. Earth & Water Law, 1455 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 400, 20004, Washington DC, USA

    Lindene Patton

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  1. Sophie Marjanac
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  2. Lindene Patton
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  3. James Thornton
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Correspondence to Sophie Marjanac, Lindene Patton or James Thornton.

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Marjanac, S., Patton, L. & Thornton, J. Acts of God, human influence and litigation. Nature Geosci 10, 616–619 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo3019

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