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Creating a climate-conscious approach to legal practice: climate change resolution

There’s never been a better time for the legal profession to take the lead in the race to net zero. Our climate change resolution outlines the role solicitors can play in addressing the climate crisis.

28 Oct 2021

2 minutes read

A joint commitment

We’re committed to taking action and we want you to stand with us.

We’ve published a climate change resolution to support solicitors and the companies or firms they work for, to develop a climate-conscious approach to legal practice.

Taking action

Many companies have already developed climate action and net zero strategies.

Nearly a third of the UK’s largest businesses have now pledged to eliminate their contribution to carbon emissions by 2050.

Increasingly, companies are requiring those they do business with to adopt similar measures.

This means they’re looking to law firms and solicitors to reflect their own values and stance on climate change and sustainability.

Learn why climate change is no longer just relevant to environmental lawyers.

This is an opportunity for firms to:

To see the infographic about this topic, visit the page on our website.

Take a look at our climate change resources to help you get started.

We encourage you to use our resolution to commit to taking action, and to evaluate how this will affect your daily practice.

What’s in the resolution?

The resolution consists of:

our commitment to taking action by adopting science-based targets for our own business operations, and providing the profession with guidance on how to take climate change into consideration when providing legal services (sections 1 and 2)
a call to action for law firms and solicitors (sections 3 to 5)

To see the infographic about this topic, visit the page on our website.

Why we need to act

The climate crisis is the greatest perceivable threat facing modern humanity.

The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) confirmed in its Sixth Assessment Report that the deadly impacts of human-induced climate change are already occurring.

It outlines that climate change will have devastating global consequences if rapid and far-reaching changes are not made to limit warming to 1.5°C.

The IPCC has advised that to maintain a 1.5°C temperature limit:

“global net human-caused emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂) would need to fall by about 45% from 2010 levels by 2030; reaching net zero around 2050.”

The International Energy Agency has also advised that new coal, oil and gas investments should end by 2021 to meet such targets.

Solicitors, through advocacy or daily practice, can be part of the change needed to tackle the climate crisis and provide a safe environment for future generations.