This paper aims to investigate if and to what extent litigation under public international law may help to address climate change and possibly facilitate a positive and timely outcome of the current negotiation process. It provides a snapshot analysis of the current legal discourse, and tries to ascertain whether the threat or pursuit of litigation provides a credible legal option. For this purpose it
outlines the substantive law and the relevant procedural means for its implementation. Finally, it offers some observations on the potential impacts of contentious legal action on the negotiation process.