Law & Climate Atlas
Climate change is a systemic challenge which is having significant impacts on the legal sector. Across almost every practice area and field of study, climate change is influencing the way that law is crafted, interpreted, and applied. In addition to facing these widespread and sometimes disruptive impacts, the law is a crucial component of the net zero transition, offering a similarly diverse range of solutions to climate change.
The Law and Climate Atlas maps intersections between climate change and many different fields of law, providing concise outlines of how different legal areas are influencing, and being influenced by, climate change. Each section includes relevant citations and links to further reading, and is updated in response to key developments.
View the Atlas
Select your jurisdiction, or view the whole Law and Climate Atlas, below.
About the Atlas
The Law and Climate Atlas was developed by the Centre for Climate Engagement at Hughes Hall, University of Cambridge in collaboration with the Net Zero Lawyers Alliance. Sections in the Atlas have been reviewed by at least one subject matter expert from academia or practice, click here for a full list of acknowledgments.
The Atlas is also a collaborative project that aims to provide accurate and up-to-date information on many legal areas, and expand into a diverse range of jurisdictions. If you have comments or feedback on existing sections, or would like to discuss expansion into new legal areas or jurisdictions, please do not hesitate to contact the Centre for Climate Engagement at climate@hughes.cam.ac.uk.
The Net Zero Lawyers Alliance (NZLA) was established ahead of COP26 to mobilise commercial law firms, lawyers and the law to accelerate the transition to net zero. Since then, the NZLA has been pivotal in positioning commercial law firms to help their clients reduce their emissions and build climate resilience, in turn supporting the global transition.
The Centre for Climate Engagement aims to accelerate the race to net zero emissions and climate resilience by curating, translating and transferring expert insight in law and governance.
Slingshot