Climate

A long-awaited government plan to tackle energy poverty should be put on a statutory footing with legally binding targets, Community Law & Mediation (CLM) has said. The law centre welcomed last week's publication of the Energy Poverty Action Plan, in particular the establishment of a cross-depar

Planning guidelines concerned with the preparation of local authority city and county development plans have been revoked in light of recent changes in the area of climate legislation and policy. The Section 28 Interim Guidelines for Planning Authorities on Statutory Plans, Renewable Energy and Clim

Community Law & Mediation (CLM) has urged the Irish government to ensure its climate action plan for 2023 aligns with Ireland's legal obligations on climate change, while addressing the energy crisis and safeguarding marginalised communities. An open letter sent by the independent law centre to

Doug McMahon, partner at McCann FitzGerald, examines the tightening regulation of businesses' environmental claims in Ireland and across Europe. As consumers become increasingly well-informed about environmentally friendly practices and causes, brands must ensure that any sustainability claims made

New regulations strengthening the legal duties of larger energy companies to help energy users save energy have been brought into effect. The European Union (Energy Efficiency Obligation Scheme) Regulations 2022 were signed today by Eamon Ryan, the minister for the environment, climate and communica

UK law firm Shoosmiths, which has an office in Belfast, is to begin imposing a £200 “levy” on lawyers who choose to travel for business by plane. The policy's aim is to encourage staff to reduce their carbon footprint in accordance with the firm's goal of achieving net zero emissio

Kennedys, with offices in Dublin and Belfast, has committed to drastically reducing its carbon emissions after teaming up with a group of climate and science experts. Plans to reduce the law firm’s emissions by 2030 have been approved by the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi).

Hannah Boyd of Eversheds Sutherland in Belfast examines how 'green leases' can be used to tackle the climate crisis. As businesses and corporations explore ways in which they can do their part to tackle the climate crisis, the role of commercial real estate cannot be understated. It’s estimate

UK law firm TLT is embarking on a new project to identify how climate-aligned contract clauses can be used in built environment projects to combat climate change throughout the entire lifecycle of a building. The commercial law firm has won a competitive brief to support The Chancery Lane Project (T

Lawyers should be "ethically obliged" to advise clients of serious risks if they pursue projects inconsistent with the 1.5˚C global warming target, a group of lawyers and climate campaigners have said. An open letter signed by more than 170 members of the legal profession, principally in England, w

More that two-thirds of Ireland's energy sector believes that the government's delivery target for offshore wind is either extremely challenging or completely unrealistic, according to a survey by business law firm Mason Hayes & Curran. Just seven per cent of industry professionals believe that

Belfast-based Mills Selig has announced the expansion of its climate and energy team with the recruitment of Aveen McGahon as a solicitor upon her qualification in September. The team, led by partners Anna-Marie McAlinden and Glenn Watterson, has enjoyed a prolific year, working on transactions tota

An industry body representing oil importers, distributors and marketers in Ireland has announced plans for a judicial review of Irish government plans to reduce energy consumption. In order to help meet EU targets on energy consumption, introduced in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the

Belfast-based Cleaver Fulton Rankin (CFR) has signed up to a climate action pledge committing the firm to reducing its carbon footprint and setting ambitious targets to enhance its sustainability. The law firm — which says it will halve its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 — joins a host

Philip Lee has become the first Irish law firm to achieve accreditation as a cycle-friendly employer. The firm has been awarded gold — the highest of three possible grades — under the EU-wide programme established in 2017 by the European Cyclists' Federation to encourage more people to c