In early 2024, European capitals faced blockades by tractors and lorries as farmers from countries like Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, and Spain protested on streets. Honking horns and carrying homemade signs, they emphasized agriculture's significance.
Released on Apr 8, 2024
In February, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) was denied a stay in the long-running climate case, Juliana v US. In the case, 21 youth plaintiffs are arguing that the federal government violated their Fifth Amendment constitutional right ‘to life, liberty and property’. It’s the latest interim proceeding in the claim, which has been running since 2015 and which the DoJ has argued should be dismissed.
Released on Mar 21, 2024
When the UK’s Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, announced a ban on the sale of disposable vapes in late January, he said his government’s aim was to stamp out vaping among children. ‘Children shouldn’t be vaping, we don’t want them to get addicted, we still don’t understand the full long-term health impacts’, he explained. What’s more, the government has acknowledged the environmental consequences of the use of disposable vapes.
Released on Feb 16, 2024
The climate emergency and the cost-of-living crisis – coupled with the lack of resiliency in food supply chains highlighted during the Covid-19 pandemic – has led to a movement involving individuals wishing to grow their own food.
Released on Feb 9, 2024
In my years of covering the UN climate talks and the annual Conference of the Parties (COP), I’ve never seen one begin with so much unexpected – and good – news as COP28 in Dubai.
Released on Dec 15, 2023
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) latest global assessment of food security and nutrition, published in October, estimates that between 691 million and 783 million people globally faced hunger in 2022.
Released on Nov 16, 2023
Over the summer, the world witnessed natural disasters such as the devastating wildfires in Greece, which by early August had burnt through 42,900 hectares of forest.
Released on Nov 9, 2023
The growth of ‘fast fashion’ – typified by the cheap and quick production of low-quality clothing – over the past few years has been aided by the Covid-19 pandemic and by social media influencers.
Released on Oct 16, 2023
At a time of accelerating climate breakdown and heightened energy security concerns, there’s a great need to defuse costly arbitration claims under the 1994 Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) – which, it’s argued, constrains the energy transition. Yet resolution remains elusive.
Released on Oct 4, 2023
Ghana is heavily reliant on its hydrocarbon resources for generating income. While there is continuing demand for energy resources, there is also a call for reductions in emissions and the petroleum sector is under pressure to clarify how energy transitions will affect its activities and organisational frameworks, as well as explain the ways in which it can contribute to mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. This transition to renewable sources has an impact on the petroleum market in Ghana as the landscape for oil and gas companies has profoundly shifted due to the countries and international organisations establishing climate change obligations. The effect of the transition is however yet to be greatly felt within the jurisdiction as hydrocarbons remain a major focus.
Released on Oct 2, 2023
Over the summer, the Northern Hemisphere faced fire, floods and heatwaves. Yet some governments are pulling back from green policy commitments or facing pressure to do so.
Released on Sep 22, 2023
When French President Emmanuel Macron hosted his Summit for a New Global Financing Pact (the Summit) in June, his goal was very clear.
Released on Sep 7, 2023
Cultivated meat is, according to Philip Lymbery, Chief Executive of animal welfare charity Compassion in World Farming, ‘humanity’s version of something that nature has already given us’. Noting that it’s produced in a bioreactor ‘from stem cells harmlessly drawn from donor animals’, Lymbery says lab-grown meat is therefore a ‘game-changer’ because it replicates nature ‘without the slaughter’.
Released on Mar 7, 2023
As an organisation at the forefront of promoting and protecting the rule of law and international justice, the IBA has had a duty to support Ukraine and its legal profession, institutions, infrastructure and population as a whole since the start of the Russia–Ukraine war in February 2022.
Released on Feb 6, 2023
Recent investigations by the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) highlight how regulators are taking action against ‘greenwashing’ – the making of false or misleading claims about the green or sustainable credentials of a product. Regulators across jurisdictions are increasingly focused on tackling this practice.
Released on Jan 5, 2023
The global clean energy transition is moving at full speed, with the electrification of energy generation happening quicker than expected as governments fast-track regulatory support for green power sources in response to the energy crisis.
Released on Dec 15, 2022
On 12 November 2022, at a side event of COP27 co-hosted by four legal associations – the International Bar Association (IBA), American Bar Association, Law Society of England & Wales and Brazilian Bar Association (OAB) – panellists addressed the crucial role of the law in tackling the climate crisis. With professional organisations representing thousands of lawyers advising companies and governments who sponsor major projects and set climate policy the discussion covered legal professionals’ duty of care to advise clients on climate risk and unveil new initiatives.
Released on Nov 22, 2022
In the preamble to the Paris Agreement, signed in 2015 by 175 parties, it was acknowledged that ‘climate change is a common concern of humankind’, and that all parties have ‘common […] responsibilities’ to combat the climate crisis.
Released on Nov 9, 2022
In recent years, there has been a significant increase in climate litigation worldwide as claimants seek to hold both governments and corporate actors to account for how their actions – or inactions – are contributing to the climate crisis.
Released on Nov 3, 2022
In August, heavy monsoon rains in Pakistan led to flash floods that caused rivers to burst their banks. This gave way to widespread devastation as the water washed away entire villages and forced families to flee.
Released on Oct 18, 2022
In mid-August US President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act (the Act) into law in what the White House terms the country’s ‘most aggressive’ attempt at tackling the climate crisis. The Act aims to reduce carbon emissions by at least 40 per cent by 2030 and transform the US’ climate and environment-related policies, including by expanding clean and renewable energy production.
Released on Oct 11, 2022
The challenges facing Africa’s clean energy transition will be thrust into the spotlight once again as Egypt prepares to host the 27th Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC (‘COP27’) in November. Hailed as ‘Africa’s COP’, African nations have said they will use the conference as a platform to set the agenda for the continent’s energy development over the next decade.
Released on Oct 10, 2022
Severe flooding devastated Pakistan in late August, killing more than 1,500 people, causing billions of dollars in damage and affecting more than 15 per cent of the country’s population.
Released on Oct 4, 2022
Russians took to the polls from 9-11 September, marking the country’s first nationwide elections since it invaded Ukraine in February. Voting took place amidst an ongoing crackdown on civil society and freedom of speech that has intensified markedly since the war began.
Released on Sep 30, 2022
Europe’s current energy crisis is set to worsen as winter approaches, according to most analyses. Energy shortages combined with severe price hikes for gas and electricity threaten industrial slowdowns and factory shutdowns. Recession in Europe’s top economies –Germany, in particular – appears likely.
Released on Sep 16, 2022
Europe’s current energy crisis is set to worsen as winter approaches, according to most analyses. Energy shortages combined with severe price hikes for gas and electricity threaten industrial slowdowns and factory shutdowns. Recession in Europe’s top economies –Germany, in particular – appears likely.
Released on Aug 26, 2022
The EU-New Zealand free trade agreement (FTA) – announced in early July – is the first of its kind to include legally enforceable commitments on climate measures, as well as gender equality and environment and labour standards.
Released on Aug 15, 2022
Released on Aug 2, 2022
As the latest UN climate change report issues another stark warning to all industries to limit global emissions, some in the legal profession are attempting to lead the way.
Released on Apr 28, 2022
2022 appears set to be another conspicuous year for environmental and climate litigation cases. Cases in Australia, Canada, Germany, Poland and beyond will pit teenagers, farmers, environmental non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and their lawyers against governments, banks and energy companies.
Released on Feb 22, 2022