Baker McKenzie/WEF: Climate Litigation Liability Now Extends to Entire Value Chain

Baker McKenzie and the World Economic Forum's April 2026 report, "Climate Litigation: From Compliance to Strategic Imperative," identified three governance trends now shaping how courts and regulators treat corporate climate obligations: expansion of liability beyond a company's own operations to its entire value chain; growing court scrutiny of whether climate transition plans are reflected in project approvals and capital investment decisions; and the rise of rights-based and duty-of-care claims that challenge how boards consider foreseeable climate risks. The report is explicit that climate litigation has "matured into being viewed as a systemic business risk" with direct implications for corporate strategy, governance, capital allocation, and market access — and that litigation risk most often arises from incoherence between public statements and operational or capital-allocation reality. Law firm governance practices advising boards and risk committees should now be incorporating climate litigation exposure into standard D&O risk assessments, transition plan review, and capital allocation governance frameworks.