Alicia Dear’s Post

If I build a coal-fired power station or an airport today, how likely is it, that within the next ten years, I will be directly involved in or impacted by climate-related litigation, regulation or legislation and suffer significant financial and reputational damage as a result? Lawyers operating in this space must consider these sorts of risks when advising their clients. Helping those who work at a law firm to better understand the many and varied implications of climate change, was one of the reasons I was so pleased to deliver Climate Fresk UK workshops for Clyde & Co. The workshop deepens participants' appreciation of all the interconnections in climate change and its very human causes and consequences. It's a great way to open up a conversation about where the many risks and opportunities lie. Thanks to Paddy Linighan and Robyn Hornsby for the warm welcome and thank you to all the participants online and face-to-face for your openness and enthusiasm. I’m looking forward to working more with Clyde & Co to find ways of making the learning from the Climate Fresk stick. We’re also going to collaborate on a game-based workshop that looks in detail at how we might get to net zero by 2050, from the point of view of governments and businesses. (Current working title “Journeys to Net Zero”). More on this soon! #climatelitigation #climatefresk #climaterisk #climateeducation #journeystonetzero Lucia Williams, Sarah Hill-Smith, Miranda Bruce, Oliver Wright, Naomi Boachie-Ansah, Hamish Groombridge, Callie Massey, Nigel Brook, Alicia Dear, Pui Sum Wong, MSc, Harsh Amarasuriya, Sateesh Revanur

Are you ready for the impact of Climate Superfunds? On July 1, 2024, Vermont became the first US state to create a climate recovery superfund. The law will require fossil fuel extractors and refiners, who account for significant greenhouse gases, to pay for their share of the climate change clean-up incurred by the State. The money received by the State will be used for climate change projects. Similar laws are pending in New York, California, Maryland and Massachusetts. The New York law has passed the house and senate and is waiting for signature by the governor. If approved, it will seek a $3 billion per year recovery from the fossil fuel industry, just for that one state. Massachusetts has the same $3 billion per year target and Maryland is targeting $360 million per year. If these laws get put in place, other states, who do not have climate superfunds, but paying more for fossil fuel because of these state superfunds, might rush to pass their own. Think about where your business sits on this debate. Are you a follower, waiting to see what happens and what others in your sector do; or do you want to get ahead of this and be seen as a business that is leading the charge? Regardless of where you sit on the debate, your business will feel the financial impact. If you want to turn this into a victory, visit the link and call us. #climatesuperfunds #edenarkgroup #sustainability #certifiedsustainablebusiness #environmentalsustainability #abetterworldstartswithme https://lnkd.in/e-Y-idmg

Are you ready for the impact of Climate Superfunds? On July 1, 2024, Vermont became the first US state to create a climate recovery superfund. The law will require fossil fuel extractors and refiners, who account for significant greenhouse gases, to pay for their share of the climate change clean-up incurred by the State. The money received by the State will be used for climate change projects. Similar laws are pending in New York, California, Maryland and Massachusetts. The New York law has passed the house and senate and is waiting for signature by the governor. If approved, it will seek a $3 billion per year recovery from the fossil fuel industry, just for that one state. Massachusetts has the same $3 billion per year target and Maryland is targeting $360 million per year. If these laws get put in place, other states, who do not have climate superfunds, but paying more for fossil fuel because of these state superfunds, might rush to pass their own. Think about where your business sits on this debate. Are you a follower, waiting to see what happens and what others in your sector do; or do you want to get ahead of this and be seen as a business that is leading the charge? Regardless of where you sit on the debate, your business will feel the financial impact. If you want to turn this into a victory, visit the link and call us. #climatesuperfunds #edenarkgroup #sustainability #certifiedsustainablebusiness #environmentalsustainability #abetterworldstartswithme https://lnkd.in/eKiaaSZj

Quoting Meena Kamath in her recent IKEA Foundation interview - "You don't have to leave your corporate law firm and you don't have to work for a nonprofit to make change". You can make a difference by embedding climate and making it part of your everyday in your contracts, legal documents and corporate governance processes. Find out more The Chancery Lane Project

On Monday, 2 December 2024, Climate:Change hosted a significant event at the Friends Meeting House in Brighton, marked by a keynote address from Cllr Tim Rowkins, the Cabinet Lead for Net Zero and Environmental Services at Brighton and Hove City Council. The event, expertly chaired by Simon Maxwell, focused on the launch of the Decarbonisation Pathways Study. This comprehensive study, commissioned by Brighton and Hove City Council, provides a detailed analysis of the city's energy system and identifies 110 priority opportunities for decarbonisation, with a strong emphasis on technical detail, inequality, and energy poverty.The discussion, which included insights from Andrew Barnett of The Policy Practice and Marie Claire Brisbois, Co-Director of the Sussex Energy Group at the University of Sussex, was rich in perspectives on the feasibility and implementation of the decarbonisation pathways. The attendees praised the study's granularity and its focus on community energy projects, such as rooftop solar and heat networks, whilst other areas were highlighted for further consideration. The event underscored the importance of transitioning from a study to a strategy and the need for continued engagement to achieve socially inclusive and effective climate solutions. Many thanks to all those who participated and attended to make this such a productive and informative discussion, and to the volunteers who supported this event. The full meeting notes are now on the Climate:Change website, including links to the full Decarbonisation Pathways Study. https://lnkd.in/e949ApH4 Tim Rowkins Simon Maxwell Marie Claire Brisbois #NetZero #Decarbonisation #SustainableEnergy #ClimateAction #CommunityEngagement #EnergyTransition #ClimateChangeMitigation #BrightonAndHove #ClimateSolutions

As we have discussed previously, New York is engaged in one of the nation’s most ambitious efforts to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as required by the 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. One way the State plans to do this is through an economywide New York Cap-and-Invest program (NYCI) that will set a declining cap on the amount of GHG emissions in the state. The stated goal of NYCI is to incentivize residents and businesses to transition to lower-carbon alternatives by applying a price to the amount of GHG emissions. It is anticipated that large-scale GHG emissions sources and distributors of heating and transportation fuels will be required to purchase or obtain allowances for the emissions associated with their activities. So, gasoline distributors will need to raise prices at the pump to accommodate fees, and utilities, like National Fuel, will need to collect fees from customers and remit them to the state. These fees will then be used to fund New York’s energy transformation. Ultimately, NYCI would impose significant costs all around. A POLITICO article, linked below, states, “the potential added cost for a gallon of gas under the program, for example, would range between 18 cents on the low end and 30 cents on the high end in 2025, according to an analysis by POLITICO. In 2027, that could rise to between 33 cents and 70 cents.” Noting “significant potential cost[s] for consumers,” the article highlights concerns raised by business groups who estimate NYCI could cost New Yorkers “up to $12 billion a year.” As the future of NYCI continues to be debated in Albany, cost concerns for New Yorkers have repeatedly become part of the conversation. Most recently, Gov. Hochul suspended a congestion pricing program citing concerns about costs. POLITICO quotes Michael Gerrard, director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia University, on the issue, who concludes that the governor's suspension of the congestion pricing program "sends a signal that [she] won't support measures that cost people money, and 'cap and invest' will inevitably cost a lot of people a fair amount of money.” Given these cost concerns, development of an economy-wide cap-and-invest program like NYCI should be pursued with the utmost caution and, if implemented, should be done in a careful, measured manner with sufficient flexibility. A poorly designed, overly aggressive program could impose unsustainable costs on residents and businesses and disproportionately burden certain parts of the state, including Western New York which has a greater reliance on heating and transportation fuels than other regions. Establishing such a program to generate monies to fund the state’s energy transformation could do more harm than good if it results in greater financial burdens on some residents and emissions and economic leakage as businesses are driven from the state. Learn more about NYCI and its implications here: https://ow.ly/xRug50Sm2Mj

The Net Zero decarbonisation pathways study for Brighton and Hove is now officially launched! It lays out the plans for: 🏠Retrofit of homes and commercial buildings ♨️rollout of Heat pumps 🏘️District heat networks ☀️Large scale solar installation 🔌Accelerating EV charger rollout ⚡️Electricity grid upgrades Phew there’s a lot to do! For all of this to happen – we need lots of exciting new technology. But none of it will happen without people. People weighing up whether they want to take the leap to switch to a heat pump, people deciding if an EV will work for them or if they could ditch their car altogether, people deciding to spend money to insulate their homes. There are lots of questions to answer: ❓ In a city with a high proportion of renters - How do we convince landlords to retrofit their properties when they won’t benefit from the energy savings? ❓ How do we make it the norm to turn the billions spent annually on home improvements to go beyond nice new kitchens and bathrooms and to install renewable energy systems? ❓ How do we avoid backlash to climate policies and make sure we’re effectively “selling” the co-benefits e.g. health and cheaper energy? ❓ How do we use social tipping points spread changes quickly? ❓ How do we get neighbours to come together and invest in community energy schemes? I’m looking forward to working with @climatechangebh and others to dig into these questions make sure people are at the heart of the energy transition in Brighton and Hove. You can read the full study here https://lnkd.in/e949ApH4 - and find a summary of the fantastic presentations from Tim Rowkins @andrewbarnett and Marie Claire Brisbois that break it down simply and clearly.

We at Earth Responsibility Score applaud the recent passage of the Climate Change Superfund Act by New York legislators. This landmark bill, if signed into law by Governor Kathy Hochul, will require fossil-fuel companies to contribute $3 billion annually for the next 25 years to address the costs associated with climate change. This bold move positions New York as a leader in climate accountability, following in the footsteps of the first state to enact similar legislation. It sends a clear message: the financial burden of climate impacts must be shared by those contributing to the problem. As extreme weather events become more frequent and severe, such as the record-setting rain that recently overwhelmed New York City's sewer system, it is imperative to hold major polluters responsible for their role in environmental degradation. This act is not just about funding climate mitigation; it's about fostering a sense of responsibility and driving meaningful change in corporate practices. At Earth Responsibility Score, we are committed to promoting sustainable business practices and ensuring that companies are held accountable for their environmental impact. We hope to see more states and countries adopting similar measures to ensure a healthier planet for future generations. #ClimateAction #Sustainability #CorporateResponsibility #EnvironmentalImpact #EarthResponsibilityScore #ClimateSuperfundAct