...Communities on the front line of climate change, and of fossil fuel pollution, feel that they have been left with little choice but to sue the polluters in court.

Following the landmark judgment against Shell in May that forced the fossil fuel giant to cut emissions by 45% by 2030, a tidal wave of climate litigation is set to crash on courts globally.

Today's launch of the #SeeYouInCourt campaign by the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) — a federation of 192 human rights groups in more than 100 countries — is part of a coordinated litigation action against polluting corporations....

Chilean NGO Observatorio Ciudadano and two other organizations are filing a protection action against climate impacts and incidents of massive intoxication caused by coal-fired power plants owned by AES Gener (now AES Andes).

In Colombia, CAJAR, a human rights organization, is working alongside a group of local communities to file a complaint with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights regarding the diverting of the Arroyo Bruno River — part of a plan to expand the largest open-pit coal mine in Latin America, the Carbones del Cerrejon.

"Today is a day that many companies will remember. Those who violate human rights, deface the planet, and aggravate climate change now have a special place waiting for them: the courts," said Jose Aylwin, director of Observatorio Ciudadano, which is an FIDH member organization.

These cases have emerged from grassroots communities who are seeking recourse in the courts because of the failure of environmental authorities to adequately control emissions.

"Multinationals play a major role in climate change, but this role does not correspond with any form of accountability for the harm done," said Clemence Bectarte, an attorney who is coordinating the FIDH Litigation Action Group...