Climate

A judge has thrown out the attempted prosecution of a woman for holding a placard on jury rights outside of a climate trial. Mr Justice Saini said there had been no basis for the prosecution of Trudi Warner, 69, for criminal contempt for holding a placard outside the trial of climate activists that

Switzerland is failing to meet its human rights obligations by not taking sufficient action to tackle climate change, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has ruled in a landmark case. The Strasbourg court today handed down judgments in three landmark cases, which represented the first climate

Company directors should consider their company's nature-related risks as part of their legal duties under the law of England and Wales, a legal opinion commissioned by Pollination Law and the Commonwealth Climate and Law Initiative (CCLI) has found. Authored by a team of five barristers led by Shar

Belgium has become the first country in Europe to criminalise ecocide on a national and international level. A new penal code backed by Belgium's federal parliament yesterday provides for imprisonment of up to 20 years for individuals guilty of ecocide, and fines of up to €1.6 million for corpo

Amnesty International has called for a fund to remedy the harms faced by communities affected by climate change to be established after higher-income states missed a deadline to nominate their representatives to its board. Following the hottest year ever recorded globally the need for action is "acu

Members of the public are being asked to give their views on how climate change is currently impacting Scotland. A newly-launched public consultation is also seeking views on how to protect and restore nature, improve green spaces in local areas and help prepare businesses for both the risks and the

Brodies LLP in partnership with Edinburgh Law School presents Planning and the climate and nature crises: delivering National Planning Framework 4 – a talk with Fiona Simpson. This lecture will reflect on the evolution of national spatial planning in Scotland, including the significant shift i

In response to a threat of legal action by the Environmental Rights Centre for Scotland (ERCS) and Good Law Project, the Scottish government has confirmed it will publish a detailed assessment of the carbon emissions expected from its £26 billion investment plan from next week. ERCS and the Go

Climate groups are launching two legal cases in the Court of Session to block a decision by UK ministers to grant permission to drain fossil fuels from the Rosebank oilfield. Uplift and Greenpeace UK are attempting to overturn the UK government's decision to permit the development of the oilfield &n

COP28 in Dubai has agreed on the need to move away from fossil fuels for the first time at the end of a climate summit marred by restrictions on civil society and the United Arab Emirates’ "blatant contempt" for human rights, Amnesty International said. The headline COP28 agreement on the Glob

The Law Society of Scotland has announced further steps in response to the escalating climate crisis, seeking to act and lead change across the legal sector. On Friday the Law Society’s governing Council passed a resolution formally setting out the society’s strong commitment to climate

An agreement at the COP28 summit to end the production and use of fossil fuels is vital to prevent a global climate catastrophe and stop an unprecedented human rights crisis which threatens the rights of billions of people from escalating, Amnesty International said today. In a briefing entitled&nbs

As global temperatures rise and the effects of climate change become more pronounced, countries around the world are witnessing a surge in climate-related litigation. Scottish Legal News delves into this growing trend, exploring key cases and shifts in global attitudes. The journey of international

An initiative designed to help law firms respond meaningfully to the climate crisis has launched in the UK ahead of London Climate Action Week. Legal Charter 1.5, which has been developed by a group of law firms, consists of a set of core principles that signatories commit to in order to reduce gree

The importance of optimising land use to electrify the economy and meet the UK’s net zero ambition has been revealed in a report from TLT and real estate consultancy Gerald Eve. Competing land use priorities, from renewable generation and green infrastructure to industry, affordable housing, f