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 that would support them in declining to advise on new fossil fuel projects.
The Law Society of Scotland published a climate change resolution in 2023 which commits the Scottish legal sector to supporting net-zero emissions targets by 2045 and provides a framework to help solicitors transition to climate-conscious legal practices.
While supportive of this resolution, the law students urged them to go further and adopt stronger guidance similar to the Law Society of England and Wales. This provides clear and specific advice to solicitors on matters relating to advised emissions, greenwashing, philosophical belief, and competence.
The law students emphasised the importance of addressing ‘advised emissions’, referring to the carbon impact of the projects or clients a law firm chooses to advise, as well as calling for greater clarity on solicitors’ right to decline to advise on fossil fuel projects incompatible with Paris Agreement limits.
The meeting also included constructive discussion on how to better integrate sustainability into the law curriculum and account for the impact of the climate crisis.
ERCS and Fossil Free Law campaigners welcomed the dialogue as a positive step forward, and agreed to arrange a follow-up meeting once proposals have been discussed with the Law Society’s sustainability committee.
Sandy Malcolm, a trainee solicitor and recent law graduate from the University of Glasgow, said:
“It is heartening to experience the Law Society of Scotland engaging with the next generation of solicitors: a forward-looking cohort who are demanding meaningful change. It is hoped that this is just the beginning of a cooperative dialogue, as it will not be enough to simply carry on with business as usual in the face of escalating climate degradation.”
