The debate on corporate climate accountability has become increasingly prominent in recent years. Several countries, particularly in the Global North, have adopted mandatory human rights and/or environmental due diligence legislation. At the same time, judicial and quasi-judicial proceedings are helping to shape the contours of corporate climate accountability. This article considers how litigation against corporations and due diligence legislation interact, and thereby help develop and strengthen corporate climate accountability. While the practice in this area is still limited, there is scope to reflect on early developments and how they may influence both future climate litigation as well as ongoing and future law-making on due diligence. We first review recent developments in climate litigation against corporations, focusing on the extent to which they rely on climate due diligence obligations. We then survey existing and proposed due diligence legislation, examining the extent to which it addresses corporate climate accountability. Finally, we identify scenarios of how due diligence legislation and climate litigation may interact and possibly converge to strengthen corporate climate accountability. We furthermore identify knowledge gaps and areas for further research.

中文翻译：

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强制性尽职调查法和气候变化诉讼：弥合企业气候责任差距？

近年来，关于企业气候责任的争论日益突出。一些国家，特别是北半球国家，已经通过了强制性人权和/或环境尽职调查立法。与此同时，司法和准司法程序正在帮助塑造企业气候责任的轮廓。本文探讨了针对企业的诉讼和尽职调查立法如何相互作用，从而帮助制定和加强企业气候责任。尽管这一领域的实践仍然有限，但仍有空间反思早期的发展以及它们如何影响未来的气候诉讼以及正在进行和未来的尽职调查立法。我们首先回顾针对企业的气候诉讼的最新进展，重点关注它们对气候尽职调查义务的依赖程度。然后，我们调查现有和拟议的尽职调查立法，研究其解决企业气候责任的程度。最后，我们确定了尽职调查立法和气候诉讼如何相互作用并可能融合以加强企业气候责任的情景。我们还确定了知识差距和需要进一步研究的领域。