Climate Law Matters Podcast
39 Essex Chambers’ barristers investigate the key legal developments, across both public and private law, in addressing the most pressing challenge of our generation, climate change. Through this podcast, they interview leaders in their fields, and across a range of sectors, to understand (i) the key developments as they see them and (ii) the role for litigation and regulation in those developments, including any legal barriers.
The team includes Steph David, Flora Curtis, Celia Reynolds, Chris Moss and Ella Grodzinski which has expertise across the breadth of Chambers’ specialisms.
In this episode, Matthew McFeeley, a partner at Richard Buxton Solicitors discusses the legal implications of the Government’s drive for green energy with Celia Reynolds, a barrister at 39 Essex [...]
At the global level, it is estimated that aviation accounts for 2.4% of annual anthropogenic CO₂ emissions and 4% of anthropogenic global heating up to 2021. As the sector continues [...]
In the first episode of 2026, Ruth Chambers, Senior Fellow at Green Alliance returns to discuss the UK Government’s assessment of global biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse with Flora Curtis, [...]
In this special end-of-year episode, 39 Essex Chambers' barrister Ella Grodzinski and Anna Tranter of Irwin Mitchell look back at the key climate caselaw developments of the year. Costs & [...]
39 Essex Chambers' barrister Christopher Moss discusses the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (“UK ETS”) with Dr Diana Casey, the Executive Director of Energy and Climate change at the Mineral Products [...]
Celia Reynolds talks to Professor Paul Fennell, professor of clean energy at the Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London. His work encompasses the decarbonisation and re-thinking of industrial processes, [...]
39 Essex Chambers' barrister Flora Curtis talks to Nikki Reisch, Director of the Climate and Energy Programme at the Center for International Environmental Law, and Lucy Maxwell, Co-Director of the [...]
Tessa Khan is the Executive Director at Uplift, a climate action organisation that supports efforts to transition rapidly and fairly away from oil and gas production in the UK. In [...]
Steph David talks with Sinead Murray, General Counsel of Ofgem, who explains the key and expanding role that Ofgem plays in driving the transition to a net zero future in [...]
Peter Carter discusses how businesses should be thinking about, and approaching, climate risk and building resilience into their business models. He explains the necessity of an holistic approach, considering not [...]
In this episode, Sarah Finch, behind the groundbreaking Supreme Court case in R (Finch) v Surrey County Council [2024] P.T.S.R. 988, talks about the immediate effects of the judgment for [...]
On 20 June 2024, the Supreme Court handed down its judgment in R (Finch) v Surrey County Council [2024] P.T.S.R. 988 in which the majority found that the grant of [...]
On 3 May 2024, the UK’s plan to meet the Sixth Carbon Budget set under the Climate Change Act 2008 (‘CCA 2008’) was declared unlawful for the second time by [...]
Ruth Chambers, Senior Fellow at Green Alliance, discusses the Office for Environmental Protection’s recent annual statutory report, published on 18 January 2023, and shares her views, more generally, on the [...]
Dr Alex Lee delves further into the role of the precautionary principle in the context of climate modelling to assess resilience – essential in adapting to climate change. He considers [...]
Climate modelling is growing in importance in disputes, such as investor state disputes concerned with climate attribution. Dr Alex Lee, Chartered Geologist and Scientist, head of the environmental and climate [...]
The Lifescape Project is concerned with creating a world rich in wild landscapes through a multi-disciplinary approach. Elsie Blackshaw-Crosby, Managing Lawyer at the charity, discusses her journey and how she [...]
Whilst recognising the importance of renewable energy sources, Paul Redington, regional major loss property claims manager at Zurich, emphasises the need to be aware of the risks associated with sustainable [...]
Whilst there has been a shift in the UK to less meat and dairy consumption, globally the amount consumed is only likely increase. A significant proportion of animal feed is [...]
In the last episode, David Rouch provided an overview of a report that he co-authored, entitled “A Legal Framework For Impact: Sustainability Impact in Investor Decision-making” – a report commissioned [...]
David Rouch is a financial services partner at Freshfields with expertise in sustainable investing. He is the author of the “Social Licence For Financial Markets: Reaching For The End And [...]
Kate Tandy is the Head of Litigation and Casework at the Office for Environmental Protection (“OEP”). In this episode, Kate explains what the OEP is and how it prioritises its [...]
Dr McClean continues her interview with Steph David. In this episode, Dr McClean discusses deep geothermal energy and how it is regulated, including both the environmental and financial risks associated [...]
Dr McClean is an expert in the regulation of geothermal energy. She is a lecturer at the University of Newcastle and a researcher on a geothermal energy heating project. In [...]
Professor Sir Dieter Helm is a Professor of Economic Policy at the University of Oxford and Fellow in Economics at New College, Oxford. From 2012 to 2020, he was the [...]
In mid-February, Lang J granted permission to proceed to the Marine Conservation Society, Richard Haward’s Oysters and Hugo Tagholm in their challenge to the Storm Overflows Reduction Plan, which, it [...]
Sustainable development and the precautionary principle are seen as important principles in improving environmental standards. In this episode, Stephen Tromans KC and Steph David discuss the extent to which these [...]
By the Aarhus Convention, the state parties recognised the importance of citizens having access to environmental information and access to environmental justice. Indeed, public interest judicial reviews brought by individuals [...]
Last year, the Net Zero Plan was found to be unlawful by Holgate J. On 30 March 2023, what has been dubbed “Green day”, the Government published its Net Zero [...]
