Leading the legal sector on climate change with Net Zero Lawyers Alliance

Herbert Smith Freehills is joining forces with other legal sector leaders to fight climate change through the Net Zero Lawyers Alliance (NZLA) – a coalition of commercial law firms committed to helping the world achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Justin D'Agostino joined leaders from a number of international law firms and corporates to launch the Net Zero Lawyers Alliance as part of London Climate Action Week.

Through their own actions and the legal services they provide to clients, NZLA members aim to act as 'connective tissue' in helping transition energy, infrastructure, transport, industry and land-use systems to align with – and accelerate delivery of – climate change mitigation, adaptation and resilience. As part of this, the alliance will help reinforce, and support implementation of, internationally coherent legal frameworks and guidelines for transitioning to net zero by 2050.

Member firms commit to reducing their own operational emissions by at least 50% (from 2019 levels) by 2030, through robust science-based targets. They will also:

• engage with their clients’ transition and decarbonisation objectives
• implement dedicated climate change-related training and pro bono targets
• help clients align their net-zero ambitions within their contracts, terms, and enforcement.

Herbert Smith Freehills has committed to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2030, in line with global efforts to limit global warming to 1.5C.

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