Funding sources

Litigation can be expensive, but fortunately there are many paths to fund a lawsuit.

Different paths to fund climate litigation include.
 * Pro bono: A lawyer agrees represent you without cost. Non-profits and public interest law firms do this sort of work, but lawyers at for-profit law firms will also do pro bono work. The Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund is one of many organizations that will represent communities pro bono.
 * Grants: Some NGO's will offer grants to fund climate litigation. The Climate Justice Fund and the EDRF Legal Aid Fund are two such examples.
 * Litigation Financing is an arrangement where a third-party will provide upfront funds to cover all legal fees, with the condition that if the lawsuit is successful, the third-party will receive a pre-agreed share of the amount recovered. Harbour Litigation Funding is one such organization that has expressed interest in funding climate litigation.


 * Crowdfunding

Organizations

 * Crowd Justice


 * Climate Justice Fund (CJF) provides support to grassroots networks and communities at the frontlines of the climate and biodiversity crisis to bring legal action for climate justice, with a specific focus on communities and networks in the Global South. They provide small grants to facilitate collaboration between community networks, practitioners, academic researchers and scientific experts.


 * The Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF) is building a movement for Community Rights and the Rights of Nature to advance democratic, economic, social, and environmental rights – building upward from the grassroots to the state, federal, and international level. CELDF provides a full range of organizing support in assisting community groups, whether they are seasoned or newly formed with little activist experience. As regards the Fundraising: Guidance on planning, budgeting, and making asks for funding support.


 * EDRF Legal Aid Fund in British Columbia, Canada helps cover legal costs to defend their environment.


 * Harbour Litigation Funding offers non-recourse funding (where they only get paid when the claim succeeds) for tort cases (including group & class actions) that meet their criteria.