Beginning as a form of law tackling issues impacting on human health, environmental laws are now in place to protect the environment, human health, and manage how natural resources are used. With growing business and government environmental regulations in place, environmental law is a dynamic and progressive area to work in. The repertoire of environmental laws is ever expanding to cover a wide range of topics - ClientEarth has legal programmes in climate, clean energy, rule of law, forests, oceans and wildlife, pollution, among others.
What is environmental law?
Why is environmental law important?
Environmental laws and policies are crucial to protecting people and the planet. Strong laws that are implemented and enforced are one of the strongest tools we have to fight climate change.
Here are some areas where environmental law has a vital role to play:
Climate
The Climate Change Act 2008 legally binds the UK to achieving reduced greenhouse gas emissions. This involves creating and sticking to carbon budgets to reduce the amount of carbon emissions that the UK economy generates. Most years, the United Nations Conference on Climate Change, or COP, takes place. This brings together countries in the UN to monitor progress on reducing carbon emissions, and meeting the goals set out by the Paris Agreement.
Pollution
Pollution can be split into three main areas: air pollution , land pollution and water pollution , all impacting negatively on the health of humans and wildlife. Air pollution can be caused by road traffic in urban areas, releasing particulates into the air that damage human health. Land pollution can come in the form of industrial waste from once industrial sites, leaving hazardous material. Water pollution can be inland or coastal - agriculture chemical run-off is one example. Laws in the UK to tackle pollution have dramatically improved since the industrial revolution, but despite this, pollution still poses serious threats to human and wildlife health.
Wildlife
A variety of wildlife and conservation laws revolve around protecting and maintaining the diverse flora, fauna and habitats that we and our planet need to survive. This spans from specific species protection, to the creation of protected areas, including National Parks, Areas Of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs, although these have now been rebranded as National Landscapes) and protected sites including Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). Threats to wildlife and biodiversity come in many forms, including wildlife crime, pollution and climate change.
The fact that these laws and legal requirements exist, means that we can use and enforce them in order to protect our environment.
About ClientEarth
ClientEarth is an environmental NGO that uses the power of the law to change the system – informing, implementing and enforcing the law, advising decision-makers on policy and training legal and judicial professionals.
As a leading environmental organisation, we’re fighting to protect everyone’s right to breathe clean air and using the law to hold governments to account for failing to take action to mitigate and adapt to climate change. We’re also promoting the right to information and access to justice so the human rights of those most affected by environmental destruction are protected.
Support our work to use environmental law to protect people and the planet >>
How we use the law
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We help shape environmental laws.
We work to ensure environmental laws are as strong and effective as possible, advising policy-makers and pushing for legal reforms. From ensuring that sustainability is at the heart of the EU Common Fisheries Policy to pushing for change to UK corporate and pensions law, our policy and legal experts help secure laws that protect people and planet.
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We hold governments and companies to account.
Laws are just words on a page unless they are enforced. With over a decade of experience, we have proved the impact we can have by using the legal system as a lever for change and we don’t shy away from challenging governments and businesses in court.
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We push for access to justice and information.
It is imperative that environmental laws are widely understood, protected and accessible. We campaigned for years for individuals and NGOs to have the right to challenge many more EU decisions that break environmental law. We’re also promoting the right to information and access to justice so the human rights of those most affected by environmental destruction are protected.
Meet ClientEarth’s Team
We started with one lawyer and his laptop in 2007.
ClientEarth founder James Thornton was a Wall Street lawyer who won over 80 cases to force the Reagan Administration to clean up polluted water. Then he moved to London, and ClientEarth was born.
Now we are over 200 people, with eight offices around the world, creating powerful change for life on Earth.