Materiality Beyond Metrics: Corporations, Climate Litigation, and Accountability for Distributed Harm
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2026
Abstract
This Article argues that the law’s encounter with the climate crisis has faced an impasse because its epistemology has been captured by a traditional ontological framework that denies the entangled and distributed nature of the relationship between humans and the environment. Recent debates over corporate governance, particularly disputes over what counts as “material” for corporate disclosure pursuant to Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) reporting, exemplify this tension between narrow and expansive conceptions of materiality. This Article proposes an alternative framing drawn from recent scientific and social theory to argue for an expansive view of the category of “materiality,” or “what matters,” in environmental law. This Article tests this ontological reframing through the lens of recent climate litigation: Luciano Lliuya v. RWE AG (2016). Such a shift would problematize the law’s dependence on its traditional conceptual architecture predicated on a view of the world as atomistic, anthropocentric, and dualistic. Ultimately, this Article proposes a more dynamic, relationally aware conception of materiality for environmental litigation, demonstrating how legal frameworks must evolve to address the systemic, distributed nature of climate harm
Recommended Citation
Ansah, Tawia B., Materiality Beyond Metrics: Corporations, Climate Litigation, and Accountability for Distributed Harm (April 17, 2026). 41:1 Or. J. Envtl. L. & Litig. 101 (2026)
