WEBINARS

Key developments in climate change and international trade law

Lawyers for Climate Action presents a webinar exploring key developments in climate change and international trade law.
7 November 2024

In this session, Bjørn-Oliver Magsig (Victoria University of Wellington) and Hannah Bain (Russell McVeagh) delved into the implications of recent New Zealand free trade agreements for climate action in Aotearoa. The session includes discussion of New Zealand's obligations under recent free trade agreements with the EU and UK, including how these relate to New Zealand's nationally determined contribution under the Paris Agreement. The discussion also covers how New Zealand corporates are affected by developments in international trade law relating to climate change, and how organisations can prepare themselves in light of regulatory and policy uncertainty.

If you would like to review the slideshows, these are Hannah Bain’s slides, there are Bjørn-Oliver Magsig’s slides.

Climate Law in Focus: Global 2024 Litigation Trends and the Role of Framework Laws

The London School of Economics' Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment and Lawyers for Climate Action NZ Inc present a joint webinar about global climate litigation trends and the impact of climate framework laws on the response to climate change.
29 August 2024

The Grantham Institute has recently published two significant reports: Global Trends in Climate Litigation: 2024 Snapshot, and Impacts of Climate Framework Laws: Lessons from Germany, Ireland, and New Zealand.

Two authors of the reports, Catherine Higham and Alina Averchenkova, presented their key conclusions for New Zealand, how our legal framework and litigation more generally fit into the global picture, and what lessons we might be able to learn from other countries. Their presentation was followed by a Q&A facilitated by Lawyers for Climate Action's Executive Director, Jessica Palairet. The webinar is suitable for anyone across Australasia with an interest in climate change law, litigation and policy.

LCANZI - Summary of our successful ETS Judicial Review

LCANZI presents a short clip from our 2023 AGM in which Dr James Every Palmer KC summarises our successful Judicial Review of the Emissions Trading Scheme settings
3 August 2023

LCANZI Committee member and litigator, Dr James Every Palmer KC, gave a short summary of our successful Judicial Review of the Regulations which set the number of additional Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) units available over the next five years and imposed various price restrictions. The Regulations are referred to as the Climate Change (Auctions, Limits, and Price Controls for Units) Amendment Regulations 2022 and were made in December 2022. The judgment resulted in the Minister for Climate Change reconsidering the unit limit and price control settings for 2023 to 2027. The amendments mean that the supply of units will now be in accordance with our emissions budgets, and the changes will help reduce the large stockpile of existing units. You can read more about the details of the case here. In this clip James set out the factors that resulted in the Judicial Review being successful.

LCANZI - Climate Change Clause Bank with Ian MacKenzie NZGIF

LCANZI present a webinar on the the Climate Change Clause Bank presented by Ian MacKenzie from New Zealand Green Investment Finance
12 July 2023

Debra Dorrington of Lawyers for Climate Action NZ hosted a webinar to explain the New Zealand Climate Change Clause Bank. An initiative of Ian MacKenzie, Head of Legal at NZ Green investment Finance, the clause bank was established earlier this year. Eleven legal firms from across the motu came together to complete this work. Clauses drafted through The Chancery Lane Project were used as a base and developed into drafting that works in the New Zealand context. The intention has been to develop clauses that are readily acceptable and easy to introduce into our documents. There are boilerplate provisions that can be described as benign but offer an opportunity for lawyers and their clients to begin to consider climate in their drafting. Use of the precedents is free. You can find them here for downloading and incorporating into your own template library.

LCANZI - Kick-starting the transition in New Zealand

LCANZI present a webinar on the role of corporate governance in the transition to a low-carbon economy
6 October 2022

The Corporate Governance subcommittee of Lawyers for Climate Action NZ convened a panel of multidisciplinary experts to discuss the barriers, opportunities and levers business may have to transition New Zealand to a low-carbon economy.  The discussion began with an outline of the current policy settings in New Zealand (noting they are deemed highly insufficient by international bodies) and framing the topic as a discussion on what industry can do in the absence of adequate policy settings simply because it is the right thing to do.

You can read the panellists key takeaways in this post.

NZLS - Climate Change Obligations Webinar

The Auckland Branch of the New Zealand Law Society present a webinar on Climate Change Obligations
25 March 2022

The webinar addresses climate change obligations and the critical role of law and what lawyers might do to contribute. Dr Paul Winton of the 1point5project answered questions moderated by LCANZI Committee member Cassandra Kenworthy.

Questions included:

• What do Lawyers for Climate Action New Zealand (LCANZI) and the Climate Change Commission (CCC) argue is needed in change over the next decade and why and how are their positions different?

• What sectors might deliver this and how, using Auckland as an example?

• The critical role of law and what lawyers might do to contribute

NZLS DLA Piper - Climate Risk Seminar

The New Zealand Law Society and DLA Piper presenting a seminar on Climate Risk
3 August 2021

The seminar panel includes Misha Henaghan (DLA Piper), Rhys Davies (DLA Piper), Mike Burrell (NZSBC), Lucie Drummond (Mercury), and Kate van Praagh (Westpac).

The seminar addresses climate risk litigation alongside environmental, social and governance initiatives.

University of Auckland Seminar – Legal Action as Climate Action

Jenny Cooper QC and Zoe Brentnall presenting at the University of Auckland - Koi Tū Centre for Informed Futures about “Legal Action as Climate Action”
14 July 2021

This webinar addresses key moments of legal action relating to climate, the types of legal action available, and the main ingredients for a successful legal action.

We ask non-members to please make a donation to LCANZI if they view the webinar.

The Chancery Lane Project

An introduction to the international project to develop new contracts and model laws to fight climate change
10 June 2021

Phoebe Roberts (Director of Implementation & Co-lead of APAC) and Charlotte Turner (Co-Lead APAC) give an overview of the Chancery Lane Project including ways of getting involved in New Zealand. Phoebe and Charlotte are based in Melbourne and work in the Climate Risk Governance team at MinterEllison.

The Project has a global community of over 700 legal professionals who convene at events which provide a unique opportunity in the field of law to engage mainstream lawyers in reconsidering their practice areas and industries within a climate conscious framework. These events produce pieces of drafting - the precedent contract clauses - which after a rigorous peer review process by TCLP’s partner law firms and specialist editors, are published as an open source knowledge resource on our website. To date (May 2021), the Project’s open source content has been downloaded more than 55,000 times across 73 countries.

We ask non-members to please make a donation to LCANZI if they view the webinar.