Jolene Lin and Jacqueline Peel’s book, ‘Litigating Climate Change in the Global South’ wins the 2025 ANZSIL Book Prize

APCEL warmly congratulates Professor Jolene Lin (Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore) and her co-author, Professor Jacqueline Peel (Melbourne Law School), for being awarded the 2025 Australian and New Zealand Society of International Law (ANZSIL) Book Prize for their groundbreaking work, Litigating Climate Change in the Global South (Oxford University Press, 2024).

This pioneering book is the first comprehensive study of climate litigation in developing countries across Africa, Asia, and Latin America—regions often underrepresented in the global legal discourse on climate change. Building on the authors’ influential 2019 article in the American Journal of International Law, the book expands our understanding of climate litigation as a truly global phenomenon and foregrounds the legal innovation and agency emerging in Global South jurisdictions.

Anchored in rich empirical analysis, Litigating Climate Change in the Global South examines three in-depth case studies: India, South Africa, and Brazil. The authors identify these countries as “front-runner jurisdictions” due to the growing volume and legal significance of climate-related cases emerging from their courts. Through interviews, social media analysis, and the authors’ extensive research networks, the book uncovers previously undocumented or underexplored cases, offering a richer picture of how climate litigation operates in diverse socio-political contexts.

A distinctive contribution of the book lies in how it redefines the notion of “impact” in climate litigation. Lin and Peel argue that courtroom victories are only one part of the story. In many instances, even unsuccessful cases can generate meaningful outcomes. The symbolic and mobilising effect of indirect impacts, such as shaping public discourse, empowering communities, and sustaining political pressure can be far-reaching.

As Professor Lin reflects in an interview:

“Many of them have lost cases in the courtroom but actually feel they’ve won… because the defeat in the courtroom didn’t mean the end of the case. The case continued to be discussed in the media. It continued to be a focus point for further action and discussion about what we need to do on climate change. And to them, that was a win.”

In a recent interview, Professors Lin and Peel also spoke about their motivation for writing the book. While both are not based in the Global South, they emphasised the importance of creating space for Global South scholars and practitioners to shape this conversation. Their hope is to spark a new wave of research and dialogue grounded in local perspectives and experiences.

“We really hope that this is just the start of scholarship in this area… We saw across the Global South some really innovative work, really committed work being done that points to the importance of a collective, diverse effort to tackle this problem,” said Professor Peel.

The book offers both critical insight and a message of hope—a testament to the agency of actors across the Global South in confronting one of the greatest challenges of our time.

The ANZSIL Book Prize Committee praised the work as:

“Altogether highly capable, extremely well researched and reasoned, informative and a distinctly timely contribution to the literature – scholarship that ANZSIL can be proud its members are producing.”

This recognition affirms the significant contribution of Litigating Climate Change in the Global South to contemporary international environmental law scholarship. It also reflects the growing relevance of legal developments in the Global South in shaping the future of climate governance worldwide.

Related links:

1. Litigating Climate Change in the Global South (Oxford University Press, 2024) https://doi.org/10.1093/9780191926525.001.0001
2. Watch Professors Peel and Lin discuss the book on YouTube