The European Court of Human Rights ‘ECHR’ delivered a landmark ruling on 9 April 2024 in a climate case brought by 2,000 Swiss women, mostly in their 70s

Very pleased to be listed in Who’s Who Legal (WWL) under WWL Environment 2023 and WWL Climate Change 2023. It is based on client and referee recommendation, so big thanks to the referees who took the time to endorse my work in these areas.

I recently had the opportunity to join a guided walk across chalk grassland at the National Trust’s site at Devil’s Dyke and Saddlescombe Farm, near Brighton in Sussex, led by the Trust’s Lead Ranger Dan Fagan. It was a reminder of how much more you can see and learn about in the company of an expert guide.  As well as enjoying spectacular countryside and views, we learned about the huge pressures on England’s chalk grassland, 80% of which has been lost since the 1940s, and the real value of this critical habitat.

On 21 June 2023 the UK Supreme Court heard legal arguments in an important case concerning onshore oil drilling in Surrey, and whether an Environmental Impact Assessment prepared under 2017 regulations should take account of indirect, ‘Scope 3’, emissions resulting from the use of extracted oil.

The Queen on the application of Friends of the Earth Ltd, ClientEarth, the Good Law Project and Joanna Wheatley v Secretary of State for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy

On 15 March 2022 the law firm ClientEarth announced that it had taken the first steps to launch a legal challenge on climate against the Board and individual directors of Shell.

On 23rd February 2022, the European Commission published a legislative proposal for a new Directive on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence. Although the proposed Directive remains to be negotiated and will have a lead in period before implementation, it is likely to have an immediate impact in signalling the likely direction of travel for major companies in the EU and beyond.

The EU ‘sustainable finance’ Taxonomy is a guide to investment in energy sources and technologies judged by the EU to be “sustainable” as part of the energy transition, and the EU’s commitment to achieving net zero emissions.