Roundtable on bar association and law society climate initiatives
On 13 February 2025, the International Bar Association Bar Issues Commission, with support from the Brazilian Bar Association, American Bar Association, Law Society of England and Wales, United Kingdom Environmental Law Association and IBA Legal Policy & Research Unit, convened an online roundtable on bar association and law society climate initiatives: implementation and inspiration.
The roundtable brought together over 70 representatives from almost 50 bar associations and law societies around the globe, to engage in rich discussions regarding challenges, opportunities, and good practices from their experiences of formulating and implementing climate initiatives in their jurisdictions, and to share visions for their work in 2025 and beyond.
The roundtable discussions, which took place almost one year after launch of the IBA Climate Registry in March 2024, revealed that organisations are employing a wide range of strategies to integrate climate considerations into legal education, legal practice, and legislation and policy development. Consistent with the IBA Climate Crisis Statement, numerous organisations have established dedicated committees or working groups focused on climate change, sustainability, or ESG (environmental, social and governance) issues, and many have established initiatives to better equip lawyers to navigate the complexities of climate change in legal advice.