Climate

The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC) has announced a new partnership with Eco-Schools NI, an environmental education programme for schools across Northern Ireland. Under the new partnership, NIHRC will offer a limited number of workshops to post-primary schools that explore the inter

International law firm Clark Hill LLP has announced the establishment of an offshore wind practice group in Dublin. Aidan Eames, a consultant in the firm since its merger with Eames Solicitors just over a year ago, is leading the new group, which will serve clients investing in the rapidly growing I

Human rights law academic Dr Aoife Daly has been granted nearly €2 million to analyse how young climate activists are claiming and asserting their rights under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Dr Daly, a law lecturer at University College Cork (UCC) specialising in children's right

A suite of green lease clauses for use in commercial leases in Ireland has been published by The Chancery Lane Project (TCLP). Law firms Arthur Cox, ByrneWallace and Mason Hayes & Curran spearheaded the development of the clauses along with other members of TCLP's Irish property working group.

New legislation has been developed in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine to strengthen the government's ability to respond to a curtailment of oil supplies. Ministers have approved the publication of the Oil Emergency Contingency and Transfer of Renewable Transport Fuels Functions Bill 2022, w

A long-awaited government plan to tackle energy poverty should be put on a statutory footing with legally binding targets, Community Law & Mediation (CLM) has said. The law centre welcomed last week's publication of the Energy Poverty Action Plan, in particular the establishment of a cross-depar

Planning guidelines concerned with the preparation of local authority city and county development plans have been revoked in light of recent changes in the area of climate legislation and policy. The Section 28 Interim Guidelines for Planning Authorities on Statutory Plans, Renewable Energy and Clim

Community Law & Mediation (CLM) has urged the Irish government to ensure its climate action plan for 2023 aligns with Ireland's legal obligations on climate change, while addressing the energy crisis and safeguarding marginalised communities. An open letter sent by the independent law centre to

New regulations strengthening the legal duties of larger energy companies to help energy users save energy have been brought into effect. The European Union (Energy Efficiency Obligation Scheme) Regulations 2022 were signed today by Eamon Ryan, the minister for the environment, climate and communica

UK law firm Shoosmiths, which has an office in Belfast, is to begin imposing a £200 “levy” on lawyers who choose to travel for business by plane. The policy's aim is to encourage staff to reduce their carbon footprint in accordance with the firm's goal of achieving net zero emissio

Kennedys, with offices in Dublin and Belfast, has committed to drastically reducing its carbon emissions after teaming up with a group of climate and science experts. Plans to reduce the law firm’s emissions by 2030 have been approved by the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi).

UK law firm TLT is embarking on a new project to identify how climate-aligned contract clauses can be used in built environment projects to combat climate change throughout the entire lifecycle of a building. The commercial law firm has won a competitive brief to support The Chancery Lane Project (T

Lawyers should be "ethically obliged" to advise clients of serious risks if they pursue projects inconsistent with the 1.5˚C global warming target, a group of lawyers and climate campaigners have said. An open letter signed by more than 170 members of the legal profession, principally in England, w

More that two-thirds of Ireland's energy sector believes that the government's delivery target for offshore wind is either extremely challenging or completely unrealistic, according to a survey by business law firm Mason Hayes & Curran. Just seven per cent of industry professionals believe that

Belfast-based Mills Selig has announced the expansion of its climate and energy team with the recruitment of Aveen McGahon as a solicitor upon her qualification in September. The team, led by partners Anna-Marie McAlinden and Glenn Watterson, has enjoyed a prolific year, working on transactions tota