This blog was co-authored by Sandy Malcolm, LLM student at the University of Edinburgh, and Libby Cooper, LLB student at the University of Glasgow, who are both active in the Fossil Free Law campaign.
Lawyers might not be the first group that springs to mind when discussing the climate crisis, but they play a critical role in enabling the operations of the fossil fuel industry. As students who hope to work in Scotland’s legal sector, we are increasingly frustrated at the lack of urgency in many law firms, who fail to adequately recognise their complicity in the climate crisis. This tendency to turn a blind eye must change. We represent the future Scottish talent pool, and as such we have the power to demand responsible practices from the industry.
Law firms are enabling fossil fuelled climate breakdown
In 2023, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published their sixth Assessment Report, which highlighted the extent to which the climate crisis will directly impact all of our lives. Even in Scotland, where we are somewhat less prone to extreme weather events, our globalised economy means that we are not immune to economic and political shocks triggered by climate disruption elsewhere. We are reliant for example on agricultural imports from climate vulnerable countries for our food supplies. In countless ways, the climate crisis is a complex global problem, and will affect everybody.
The continued activities of fossil fuel companies – in particular the “Carbon Majors” – are incompatible with attempts to limit global warming to 1.5℃ and well below 2℃ (the targets adopted by 196 parties to the Paris Agreement 2015). By continuing to expand the extraction of coal, oil, and gas, these companies demonstrate their disregard for both scientific consensus and global health.
Crucially, the activities of fossil fuel companies are enabled by lawyers, who provide assistance by drafting and litigating contracts, take action against governments who legislate to protect the environment, and through criminal prosecutions against climate protestors. This link between the UK legal sector and the fossil fuel industry has been explored in detail by the organisation Law Students for Climate Accountability (LS4CA). The work of LS4CA has been an inspiration for this project, where we seek to achieve similar aims in the specific Scottish context.
Personal experiences of Scottish law students
Sandy Malcolm: as an LLM student at the University of Edinburgh, I have experienced the near impossibility of practising law while objecting to the continued support for the fossil fuel industry. After the third year of my LLB, I was offered a traineeship with a firm in Scotland, but when I requested seats which did not support the extraction of fossil fuels, this was refused. The furtherance of my career was directly at odds with my idea of responsible labour in the face of the climate crisis. I then decided to withdraw my traineeship acceptance and pursue further education in environmental and climate change law. As my diploma year approaches, I am increasingly worried about finding a traineeship with a firm that understands the urgency and demonstrates genuine climate conscientiousness.
Libby Cooper: As a Scots law LLB student at the University of Glasgow, with a longstanding commitment to environmental justice, my path in the legal profession along with my studies has been shaped by a desire to align with meaningful sustainability goals. My involvement with Greenpeace from a young age instilled the urgency of confronting environmental harm at its root and the necessity of structural change and transparency from corporations to achieve a truly sustainable future. However, as I have progressed, I have witnessed firsthand how difficult it is to find legal opportunities that genuinely reflect these values. This campaign’s Scottish origin also aligns with my degree and motivations to advance the Scottish legal system.
Fossil Free Law: a new campaign for climate justice
Fossil Free Law is a collaboration between the Environmental Rights Centre for Scotland (ERCS) and law students at universities across Scotland. The aims of the campaign are to:
- Increase accountability and transparency in the Scottish legal sector around support for fossil fuel companies.
- Empower Scots lawyers (as a collective) to refuse or restrict services provided to fossil fuel companies, and make informed decisions about their employment.
- To drive legal reform towards a Scottish legal sector which is imbued with climate conscientiousness and ethical practice.
With Fossil Free Law, we seek to provide a platform and a community within which law students and legal professionals across Scotland can push for institutional change. We aim to provide students, lawyers, and law firms the tools they need to support the net zero transition and decouple from the toxic fossil fuel industry.
What is distinct about Scotland?
North Sea oil and gas has played a central role in Scotland’s economy and politics, but it is entwined with a difficult legacy of colonial participation and rampant extractivism. Despite this, in recent years we have earned a status as a global frontrunner in renewable energy. With this campaign, we seek to galvanise the legal sector towards supporting the net zero transition and turning our backs on oil extraction. As current and prospective lawyers, we have considerable power to channel our labour in service of a Scotland powered by renewables.
What next for the campaign?
Between the ERCS and the student steering group, we have begun to set some wheels of change in motion…
- First, we will be contacting law firms across Scotland to enquire about the extent to which they provide services to fossil fuel companies. We primarily seek to understand the mechanisms – if they exist – by which Scottish firms vet the clients they represent. In doing so, we seek to provide transparency in the profession.
- Second, we aim to interface directly with the Law Society of Scotland, to advocate for the tightening of professional advice provided to lawyers. Such a change would bring the standards for Scots lawyers in line with English and Welsh lawyers, who are empowered to decline to advise on matters that are manifestly incompatible with the Paris Agreement (2015) limits. In doing so, we ground our campaign in national and international law.
- Third, we will be working closely with Law Students for Climate Accountability (LS4CA), an organisation in the USA whose work producing a “Law Firm Climate Change Scorecard” has been an inspiration for this campaign. Through collaboration, we seek to share skills and develop our capacity to bring accountability to the legal sector in Scotland. In the future we hope to be able to produce a similar scorecard of our own, to empower prospective employees to understand the implications of their future labours.
Many firms continue to prioritise short-term commercial interests over environmental integrity (so-called ‘greenwashing’ tactics within websites are an example), often neglecting their role in shaping a legal landscape that supports a Just Transition. Firms with deep rooted sustainability goals do exist, these firms recognise the necessity of responsible practice and advocate for climate-conscious legal frameworks. But, the challenge is ensuring that aspiring lawyers have access to these spaces rather than being forced into roles that undermine the fight against fossil fuel dependency.
The Fossil Free Law campaign is an essential movement in bridging this divide. By advocating for transparency, ethical responsibility, and structural shifts within the legal profession, we hope to push for a system where legal careers can be pursued without compromising environmental principles. The law should be a tool for justice, and justice must include safeguarding our planet!
Join us!
Our work has only just begun, and we are very keen to work with any students, academics, or legal professionals with an interest in climate change and professional ethics.
You can find out more and get involved at Fossil Free Law.
