Partnership
For Funders & Philanthropic Partners
Building legal accountability for climate harm
Smith v Fonterra is a strategic public-interest case designed to advance climate accountability through the courts, where regulation alone has proven insufficient to protect communities from escalating climate impacts.
The case seeks to:
- establish clear legal pathways for civil accountability for major emitters
- strengthen protections for vulnerable and frontline communities
- develop jurisprudence that recognises climate harm as foreseeable, cumulative, and actionable
- integrate Indigenous perspectives on land, responsibility, and intergenerational harm into climate law
This litigation is not about damages or profit. It is about systemic change — ensuring that those who contribute most to climate risk cannot externalise the costs onto communities, ecosystems, and future generations.
Support for this case enables:
Robust legal preparation and expert evidence
Public education and transparent communication
The development of legal tools that can be used by communities facing climate harm
Long-term impact beyond this single proceeding
Philanthropic backing plays a critical role in ensuring that public-interest climate litigation is not limited to those with corporate-scale resources.