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03 December 2021 / Andrew Whitehead
Issue: 7959 / Categories: Opinion , Climate change litigation , Profession
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What do the results of COP26 mean for the legal sector?

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Lawyers will play a key role in safeguarding the future, writes Andrew Whitehead

COP26 has brought issues such as net zero and climate change to the front of the world stage. As well as the headline announcements on methane emissions, deforestation and carbon reporting, several recurring themes will impact the future of the energy sector, and the demand for legal services from market participants and consumers.

Hydrogen holds the potential to heat homes, replace natural gas in industrial processes and power vehicles. Some say the hydrogen economy in 2050 could be the size of the oil and gas industry now. However, hydrogen still comes with question marks around storage, transportation and efficiency. To address these, the UK’s gas network operators are developing demonstration projects to prove the concept and ensure the country’s infrastructure is where it needs to be for hydrogen to be used as a mainstay in the energy supply chain.

This push for hydrogen networks is potentially at odds with the government’s

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

London Solicitors Litigation Association—John McElroy

London Solicitors Litigation Association—John McElroy

Fieldfisher partner appointed president as LSLA marks milestone year

Kingsley Napley—Kirsty Churm & Olivia Stiles

Kingsley Napley—Kirsty Churm & Olivia Stiles

Firm promotes two lawyers to partnership across employment and family

Foot Anstey—five promotions

Foot Anstey—five promotions

Firm promotes five lawyers to partnership across key growth areas

NEWS
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Thousands more magistrates are to be recruited, under a major shake-up to speed up and expand the hiring process
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
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