Are courts the new crucible for climate justice?

Date:: 4 July 2019, 9:00 am - 12:30 pm
Venue:: Fawcett House (Formerly Tower 2), Room 9.04, London School of Economics, WC2A 2AZ

Royal Courts of Justice in London.

Watch the livestream of this event:

An examination of global trends & experiences

Organised by GLOBE International with Grantham Research Institute for Climate Change and the Environment LSE, ClientEarth, E3G & the Asian Development Bank. Sponsored by Clyde & Co. This event is being held as part of as part of London Climate Action Week.

Across the world, courts have become a lightning rod for action on climate change, air pollution, environmental degradation, land rights and a host of related issues. Citing failure by the authorities, increasing numbers of individuals and communities from the USA to the Philippines are taking their grievances to the courts for redress. Held as part of London Climate Action Week this event provides rare insights from prominent figures involved directly in landmark judgements and cases on climate change and air pollution reached in Pakistan, Brazil, the Netherlands, India and the UK, which are inspiring action elsewhere. It also reflects on the challenge to traditional politics and development models as the climate crisis unfolds.

8:30 – 9:00am REGISTRATION

9:00 – 9:05am. WELCOME

Bob Ward, Policy & Communications Director, Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and Environment, LSE

9:05 – 9:10am. INTRODUCTON

Malini Mehra, CEO, GLOBE International secretariat

9:10am – 10:15am HIGH-LEVEL SESSION: FOCUS ON PAKISTAN AND BRAZIL

Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Supreme Court of Pakistan and Founding Member, Global Judicial Institute on the Environment

Dr Raquel Dodge, Prosecutor General of the Republic of Brazil

Justice Antonio Herman Benjamin, National High Court of Brazil; Chair, Founder, Global Judicial Institute on the Environment

10:15am –10:30am Q&A

10:30am –11:00am PANEL 1 – Overview of current climate litigation and future trends

Chair: Joana Setzer, Grantham Research Institute LSE

Panel: Nigel Brook, Partner, Clyde & Co.; Irum Ahsan, Principal Counsel, Asian Development Bank; Tessa Khan, Urgenda Foundation

11:00am –11:15am Q&A

11:15 – 11:30am COFFEE BREAK

11:30 – 12:00pm PANEL 2 Air & Water Pollution: Litigation case studies and transboundary challenges

Chair: Sumeet Lal, Clyde & Co.

Panel: Ritwick Dutta, Legal Initiative for Forests & Environment (LIFE), India; Ahmad Rafay Alam, Environmental Lawyer, Pakistan; Katie Nield, Client Earth

12:00 – 12:15pm Q&A

12:15 – 12:25pm. REFLECTIONS ON THE CHALLENGE TO POLITICS

Sir Ed Davey MP, former Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (TBC)

12:25-12:30 THANKS & CLOSE

PLEASE CHECK THIS SITE FOR REGULAR SPEAKER & PROGRAMME UPDATES

NB: This event will be filmed.

Sponsored by Clyde and Co.
Organised by GLOBE International with Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change & the Environment, Client Earth, E3G and Commonwealth Climate & Law Initiative

This event is now sold out.