Climate change litigation

Climate change belongs on every lawyer’s agenda, with risks extending far beyond environmental practice into commercial advice, litigation and access to justice

Kirsty Brimelow KC, chair of the Bar Council, on why every lawyer needs to understand the risks of climate change

Australia-headquartered mining giant BHP has been held strictly liable as ‘polluters’ for the Fundão dam disaster in Brazil, in one of the largest group actions ever brought in the English courts

Amy Woolfson analyses the legal position of healthcare professionals who take part in climate activism

Doctors with placards—what is the law? In this week’s NLJ, barrister Amy Woolfson, of 5 St Andrew’s Hill, analyses the legal position where healthcare professionals take part in climate activism

A rise in nuisance claims against water utilities and in silicosis claims are among the insurance predictions for 2025.

Be on guard against ‘greenwashing’ as tough regulations are now in place. Moreover, the latest guidance available suggests a low threshold for culpability. In this week’s NLJ, Paige Coulter, associate at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan UK, with input from Julianne Hughes-Jennett, partner, sets out the risks involved and predicts a rise in litigation under the Companies Act 2006 and other legislation concerning allegations of greenwashing (publishing misleading information about the environmental or sustainability characteristics of a good, service or business).

‘Downstream’ CO₂ emissions & causation: Dr Douglas Maxwell analyses the judgments of a divided Supreme Court

The Finch ruling on ‘downstream’ emissions in environmental impact assessments is a seminal judgment by the Supreme Court

Planning permission for oil extraction at Horse Hill, Surrey, must take into account the environmental impact of combustion emissions when the crude oil is refined and burned, the Supreme Court has held in a landmark judgment