From climate change to the deep sea: reflecting on a milestone year in international environmental law, and implications for private practice

Dr Alexandra R. Harrington is a Visiting Scholar at the McGill University Faculty of Law and Chair of the IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law Agreement on Plastic Pollution Task Force. She is a legal delegate for the IUCN at the Global Plastics Treaty, where she also advises and represents several West African countries, as well as for the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions, SAICM and the Global Framework on Chemicals, Minamata Convention on Mercury, the OEWG process for the creation of a Science-Policy Panel on Chemicals, Waste and Pollution Prevention, and various UNEP consultations relating to all forms of pollution. Dr Harrington is one of 25 Appointed Experts for the UNEP/WHO Expert Group on updating the State of the Science Report on Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) and an Appointed Member of International Academy of Astronautics Study Group to Investigate a Transdisciplinary Approach to Protect the Dark and Quiet Sky from Satellite Constellation Interference. She has held two Fulbright terms in Canada at the Balsillie School of International Affairs, focusing on global governance issues, including the 2018 - 2019 Fulbright Canada Research Chair in Global Governance. She is the Director of Studies for the International Law Association of Colombia and sits on the editorial boards of multiple academic publications. Dr Harrington is the author several books, including International Organizations and the Law (1st edition 2018, 2nd edition 2023), International Law and Global Governance: Treaty Regimes and Sustainable Development Goals Interpretation, Just Transitions and the Future of Law and Regulation, and The Future of Peace: Incorporation of Intergenerational Equity and Justice in Peace Treaties and Reconciliation Agreements. She routinely advises international organizations and governments on legal issues relating to climate change, governance issues, environmental law, sustainable development and international human rights law. She holds a Doctorate of Civil Law (McGill University Faculty of Law), in addition to a JD, LL.M. and BA degrees in Politics and History.

Anika Havaldar is a senior associate in the dispute resolution group at Freshfields LLP based in Dubai. She specializes in public international law, international commercial and treaty arbitration, and international commercial litigation. She has acted in disputes before arbitration tribunals sitting around the world and various international, regional, and national courts, including the International Court of Justice, where she began her legal career as a law clerk to then-President Judge Abdulqawi A. Yusuf. Anika has advised sovereign States, international organizations, multinational companies, and nongovernmental organizations on a broad range of public international law issues, including the law of the sea, international environmental law, and human rights. Recently, she helped lead a cross-office Freshfields team that advised on the inter-governmental negotiations on the UN Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction treaty and the global plastics treaty.

Award-winning international legal and compliance professional with 20+ years of cross-border experience in maritime and transport law, international environmental regulation, and sanctions/trade compliance. Advises on complex commercial matters under English law, including charterparty and shipbuilding issues, regulatory risk, and dispute strategy for internationally exposed operations. Has held senior in-house leadership roles across shipping, port logistics and infrastructure, including leading legal and compliance functions for a strategic terminal asset within an international group. Works at the intersection of business, regulators and industry stakeholders, developing practical compliance frameworks and risk-management approaches for high-impact projects. Author of widely used professional methodologies, books and peer-reviewed scientific articles on regulatory compliance, environmental liability and risk allocation in maritime projects, and the practical implementation of climate-related rules in private practice. Regularly invited to speak at international professional events and contribute expert commentary and analysis for professional audiences. Serves as an arbitrator and is selected for expert roles requiring specialised knowledge and professional standing, including evaluation of complex disputes and compliance matters.