ClientEarth expands further into Asia to help accelerate energy transition

ClientEarth is further expanding its legal and policy work in Asia alongside its established presence in China, to help accelerate the clean energy transition in the region.

The regional expansion will involve the organisation’s legal experts working to further embed climate change in regulatory, policy, investment and business decisions.

Asia is particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. It is also uniquely positioned, as the main driver of global growth and a hub for innovation, to address the challenges climate change presents and capture the opportunities of the net zero transition.

This includes the multitrillion-dollar renewable investment opportunities and public health and environmental benefits of a just transition from coal power, which currently is heavily concentrated in the region.

ClientEarth lawyers will be working with governments, the private sector and civil society to support strengthened climate and energy policy, sustainable finance and business strategies aligned with the goals of the Paris Agreement.

The expansion will complement ClientEarth’s established work in China, where since 2016 the organisation has advised government on environmental law, trained prosecutors and judges, and supported China’s system for environmental public interest litigation. Its experts have also been involved with greening the Belt and Road Initiative, the EU – China environmental policy dialogue, and provided support to local NGOs.

ClientEarth lawyer Peter Barnett will lead the new Asia Climate and Energy programme. He said: “Countries in Asia are at once among the most vulnerable to climate change and the most influential and best positioned for global efforts to mitigate its worst impacts.

“Policy, investment and business strategies need to adapt rapidly to address the financial risks and opportunities presented by the net zero transition.

“We are looking forward to working with decision-makers from across the region to help them navigate these risks, seize opportunities in a changing investment landscape, and facilitate the regulatory shifts needed to accelerate economy-wide decarbonisation.”

As more governments in Asia are announcing net zero goals aligned with the Paris Agreement, ClientEarth lawyers are looking to support these ambitions with credible, time-bound plans to cut fossil fuel reliance and boost renewable and other clean energy investment.

A large part of ClientEarth’s work will involve supporting national partners, and building legal capacity for organisations on the ground to take action and push for supportive policy.