What we do

In Asia, we help to build legal frameworks to address climate change, accelerate the transition to clean and accessible energy and protect nature. We work in collaboration with government, the private sector and civil society to support practical solutions to environmental challenges and build a future in which people and planet thrive together.

Asia is particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and nature loss. But it is uniquely positioned, as the main driver of global growth and a hub for innovation, to address those challenges and capture the opportunities of the clean energy transition and enhanced natural ecosystems. We work with companies, boards and investors to understand and embed climate change in corporate governance and strategy.

In China, where we have been since 2016, we help the government write better environmental laws, train prosecutors and judges, and support local NGOs and help green China’s overseas investment and trade.

Since 2020, ClientEarth have been expanding our work in Southeast Asia and Japan. Our growing team in Asia includes more than 30 law and policy experts drawing on a network of global, regional and national expert partners.

ClientEarth works in support of financial and energy regulators in Asia to strengthen the regulatory framework for sustainable finance and clean energy. We help accelerate the energy transition in the region, provide practical guidance to the financial sector in support of green and sustainable finance and support and strengthen international cooperation on climate and the environment.

With our forests programme, we work to raise awareness and develop capacity building activities to improve conditions for the natural environment and its people.

We also contribute to continuing professional development programmes on climate and ESG law for legal professionals in Asia and support international efforts to strengthen environmental and climate adjudication through judicial convenings and conferences.

Net zero engagement in Asia

The guide “Net zero engagement in Asia – A Guide to shareholder climate resolutions” is a resource for Asia-focused investors considering shareholder resolutions as a complement to broader corporate engagement options when exercising responsible stewardship on climate matters.

Our work on greenwashing 

There is a critical role for sustainable finance in enabling and facilitating the green transition. However, greenwashing has the potential to impede this transition by distorting the financial markets and undermining the effective allocation of capital.

Regulators and international bodies have begun to introduce standards and guidelines to address the various aspects in which greenwashing can arise in the finance sector. Enforcement against greenwashing is also on the rise, with a variety of regulators and actors commencing action against companies they consider to be misleading the market.

Our work in China

Environmental law has a huge role to play in cutting pollution and protecting the natural world. ClientEarth has been helping the Chinese government draft new laws, train judges and support environmental groups to bring cases against polluting companies and local authorities.

Community forestry

In Southeast Asia, deforestation is accelerating at an alarming rate, with devastating costs for biodiversity and forest communities. We are working to change this by helping design legal frameworks that protect local rights and empower communities to manage their lands sustainably.