In this week’s episode of Law Pod UK Rosalind English reports from the UK Bar Council’s 19th Annual Law Reform Lecture, exploring the role of law reform in the context of climate change. You will hear excerpts from the speeches given by Inger Andersen, Under-Secretary-General of the UN and Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme, and Lord Carnwath of Notting Hill, a former UK Supreme Court judge.
- The Paris Agreement of 2015 (United Nations)
- References made in Lord Carnwath’s address are to the following cases:
- Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency, 549 U.S. 497 (2007)
- State of the Netherlands v. Urgenda Foundation (Dutch: De Staat Der Nederlanden v. Stichting Urgenda), Supreme Court of the Netherlands, 20 December 2019 (unofficial translation here)
- Juliana, et al. v. United States of America, et al., 947 F.3d 1159 (9th Cir. 2020)
- Future Generations vs. Ministry of Environment and Others, Supreme Court of Coloumbia, 5 April 2018
- Milieudefensie et al. v. Royal Dutch Shell plc (26 May 20212. This ongoing claim is based on the Urgenda decision, which found that the Dutch government’s inadequate action on climate change violated a duty of care to its citizens).
Full written speeches are available on the Bar Council’s website.
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