Law students from ERCS’s Fossil Free Law campaign have met with Ben Kemp, Chief Executive Officer at the Law Society of Scotland to push for new climate change guidance for solicitors ...

Join us at our inaugural Fossil Free Law student gathering. This one-day event is an opportunity for law students to network, gain campaigning skills, and plan together how we can collectively challenge ties between Scotland’s legal sector and the fossil fuel industry. Why attend? We are building a new network of climate conscious law students, and we want you to be part of it. As the future workforce of Scotland’s legal sector, law students have a vital role to play in challenging the acceptability of law firms providing services to the fossil fuel industry. They can shape emerging norms and drive a cultural shift within the legal profession, ensuring that the work undertaken by lawyers remains compatible with Paris Agreement climate targets. What is the problem? Scientists are warning that climate breakdown is happening faster than expected and that the window for action is closing fast. If we are serious about limiting dangerous temperature rises, there is no space for new fossil fuels, but oil & gas companies have failed to diversify and continue to seek licences to exploit new reserves. Law firms provide a range of services to oil, gas and mining companies, enabling transactions that finance future fossil fuel development, litigation against climate accountability, and fossil fuel lobbying. However, until now, the enabling role of our legal sector has escaped scrutiny, and there has been little consideration of whether work undertaken by lawyers on behalf of the fossil fuel industry is consistent with the Paris Agreement targets to …

ERCS has worked with law students in the Fossil Free Law steering group to develop a campaign toolkit for organising on university campuses ...

The International Court of Justice has issued a landmark Advisory Opinion on States’ obligations regarding climate change ...