Loes van Dijk – Founder Climate Court | EU Climate Pact Ambassador | Climate Litigation & Law | Climate Justice | UCL LLM in Corporate Law
2025’s climate litigation was wrapped up perfectly as Malaysian climate think thank RimbaWatch filed what is Malaysia’s first climate litigation case. It is not a conventional greenwashing claim brought against a company. Instead, it targets alleged government inaction on greenwashing investigations.
The case challenges lack of action by two ministries (the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability), to investigate alleged greenwashing in fossil-fuel advertising. Each ministry stated that greenwashing complaints fell outside its jurisdiction, effectively leaving no authority willing to act.
The dispute is about enforcement failure, not misleading marketing as such. RimbaWatch is asking the High Court to determine
The claim argues that Malaysian law, including the Environmental Quality Act 1974, already provides a statutory basis to act on misleading environmental claims, and that a refusal to do so constitutes an unlawful failure to exercise statutory responsibility rather than a discretionary policy choice.
The case also relies on the ICJ’s Climate Change Advisory Opinion. The argument is that climate due diligence requires an operational enforcement system, and that allowing greenwashing complaints to fall into a regulatory gap may breach the state’s duty of “adequate vigilance.”
If successful, this case could clarify who is legally responsible for greenwashing oversight in Malaysia and strengthen the justiciability of climate-related enforcement failures.
Definitely one to watch!
https://www.linkedin.com/in/loes-van-dijk-24a676107/
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