We explore the current climate crisis, focussing on the role of the law in responding to the impact of climate change.
5 July 2019
London Climate Action Week: Cutting through the London smog - the big question still to be answered about the death of Ella-Kissi Debrah
At the end of the inquest in 2014 into the death of Ella Kissi-Debrah, the coroner concluded that this nine year old girl suffered an asthma attack, followed by a seizure, and died after unsuccessful resuscitation. This is one possible answer to the question of how Ella died. However, there is clearly a bigger question which needs to be answered.
4 July 2019
London Climate Action Week: Climate refugees – an international legal conundrum
In the last week, Philip Alston, the UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights said the world was increasingly at risk of “climate apartheid” where the wealthy pay to escape the impact of climate change and the rest of the world is left to suffer.
3 July 2019
London Climate Action Week: International criminal law and the environment – considering a law of ‘ecocide’
In April 2019, Polly Higgins, a British barrister, passed away after devoting ten years of her life to a campaign for a new law of ‘ecocide’ – a law that would make corporate executives and government ministers criminally liable for the damage they cause to the environment. In this blog, we consider the current framework for punishing environmental crime at international level, and what the proposed crime of ecocide might look like.
2 July 2019
London Climate Action Week: Funding environmental cases & the Aarhus fixed costs Rules
Access to justice is central pillar to the rule of law. Ensuring individuals and organisations can afford access to justice is a real challenge, none more so than in environmental cases where the success is not driven by monetary reward.
1 July 2019
London Climate Action Week: Saving Londoners from nitrogen dioxide, one judicial review at a time
According to the most recent data, two million people in London are living with illegal levels of air pollution. Nitrogen dioxide is one of the main pollutants and road transport is estimated to be responsible for 50% of total emissions.
