Report: The Role of Attribution Science in Legal Action on Loss and Damage

Written in collaboration with the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), the NYU Climate Law Accelerator’s (CLX) latest report breaks down and analyzes the role attribution science can play in legal action relating to climate change-induced loss and damage. The report examines the distinct types of attribution science and their underlying methodologies, and analyzes how it can inform legal actions ranging from international policy to domestic legislation to litigation. The report also takes a hard look at the limitations of, and inequities in, this growing field of climate science. While attribution science has numerous potential legal applications, existing resource and data constraints caution against over-relying on this body of knowledge when deciding whether to aid impacted communities.