Climate

Ireland's courts service has missed its 2020 energy efficiency targets and will have to catch up to meet an even more ambitious 2030 target. The Courts Service today published its first-ever environmental sustainability strategy, which sets out its priorities for 2021 to 2024.

Belfast-based McKees has been awarded a bronze medal by EcoVadis in recognition of its business sustainability rating, becoming the only law firm in Ireland to hold the accreditation. EcoVadis is a worldwide provider of business sustainability ratings, intelligence and collaborative performance impr

Arthur Cox has been announced as a sponsor of the 2022 Environment Ireland Conference, which is taking place in Croke Park in January. Now in its 17th year, the theme of the conference, taking place from 18-19 January 2022, will be "Ireland in 2050: Becoming an Environmental Leader".

UK law firm Shoosmiths' emissions reduction targets have been validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). Shoosmiths, which has an office in Belfast, commits to reductions across its entire value chain to reduce absolute scope 1, 2 and 3 greenhouse gas emissions 50 per cent by FY2030 f

A failure to consider the "people factor" in boardroom decarbonisation strategies could undermine climate change mitigation efforts, according to a new report from Eversheds Sutherland and KPMG. A second survey of senior executives and business leaders found an increased corporate confidence in deca

The High Court has refused an application by an environmental group for the attachment of the chief executive for Roscommon County Council. The group claimed that the County Council had breached a court order by restarting work on a flooding relief program. However, Mr Justice Garrett Simons held th

Setting emissions targets is crucial for companies with complexity across sectors, technologies and business structures. However, this is often the easy part, according to an insight paper from Cornwall Insight and Shoosmiths: Unlocking net zero strategies for businesses. The report explores the pot

The UK’s national human rights institutions are warning that the human rights implications of the climate crisis must be tackled during COP26 in Glasgow. The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, Scottish Human Rights Commission and the Equality and Human Rights Commission highlighted that

Lawyers at a major City firm will be able to buy electric cars through a new scheme designed to contribute to the fight against climate change. Stephenson Harwood, which employs over 1,100 people across eight global offices, will make the scheme available to all staff in London from next year.

Climate justice professor and former Irish president Mary Robinson is among the high-profile speakers at a major legal conference in Edinburgh today – ahead of the UN climate change summit, COP26, which begins on Sunday. The event, hosted jointly by all three UK law societies and which wi

Climate lawyers have urged the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate Brazil's president for crimes against humanity over his administration's policies in the Amazon ahead of the COP26 this month. The Allrise group has lodged a case with the court alleging that the government of Jair

The government's planned carbon tax hike risks exacerbating fuel poverty in the absence of affordable clean energy and reliable public transport, Community Law & Mediation (CLM) has warned. The community law centre and charity, which opened a Centre for Environmental Justice earlier this year, i

DLA Piper is to agree a travel budget with its clients as part of a new series of measures to reduce its carbon footprint in the next two years. The move is part of a wider project of the firm's to commit to targets halving its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 compared to pre-pandemic levels.

Strategic planning policy on oil and gas development in Northern Ireland is set to be reviewed to ensure it "remains appropriate in the context of the climate emergency". Infrastructure minister Nichola Mallon said the review will include consideration of unconventional hydrocarbon development, comm

UK law firm TLT has signed the Greener Litigation Pledge as part of its aim to be a net zero business by 2025 and to support its clients with their own sustainability goals. Signatories commit to actively reducing, with a view to minimising, the environmental impacts of litigation in the English and