There is green army of lawyers spread across 60 countries who have been litigating since 2007 to make “governments and companies accountable for their climate commitments and change their behavior.” And Laura Clarke (London, 45 years old) leads them. She is the executive director of ClientEarth, an environmental organization whose main weapon is the law. These are, this British diplomat explains, around 150 “brilliant” lawyers who come from the private sector and who have even agreed to charge less to start working for this NGO. ClientEarth is behind some of the major environmental litigation in recent years against companies—such as oil companies and airlines—and governments.
“We firmly believe that law has great power to accelerate the change we need for climate and environmental action. When the law is used in the right place at the right time, it can really lead us to positive turning points very quickly,” says Clarke, who has led this organization since 2022. Previously, he had accumulated a two-decade diplomatic career in Africa, Asia and Europe; She became British High Commissioner to New Zealand, Governor of the Pitcairn Islands and High Commissioner to Samoa. But two years ago she left diplomacy to embark on the path of environmental litigation, a growing tool in international climate activism.
ClientEarth experts don’t just litigate, they try to work “throughout the life cycle of the law.” That is, sometimes they advise governments on drafting laws and sometimes they also carry out “training of judges, lawyers and prosecutors in environmental law.” “And we work with local communities and indigenous groups so that they use the law to defend their rights and protect their environment,” she details, sitting in the meeting room of ClientEarth’s office in Madrid.
The NGO also has offices in Beijing, Berlin, Brussels, Japan, London, Los Angeles, Luxembourg and Warsaw. The one in Madrid opened in 2021 and the team is now focused on trying to put a stop to bottom trawling in Spain’s protected marine spaces, which has implications for biodiversity and climate change. “Bottom trawling is being allowed without proper impact assessment and some of the affected areas are protected,” he warns.
The interview with EL PAÍS took place last Tuesday with good news still hot on the table. ClientEarth had partnered in Portugal with SEO/BirdLife and other local NGOs to try to prevent the construction of a new airport in the Tagus estuary, “which was going to be really destructive for migratory birds.” A lawsuit had already been filed in court against the Montijo airport. But, finally, the Portuguese Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro, has announced that he is abandoning its construction. This is an example of the way ClientEarth works, which often partners with local entities to litigate.
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Among the most important legal demands of this NGO since its founding, Clarke highlights the 2015 ruling by the Supreme Court that forced the United Kingdom Government to improve its air quality plan to fight pollution. “That was the first of many cases throughout Europe that have led to more than 350 cities having low emissions zones,” he maintains. “We have also used financial and corporate law effectively to stop new coal power plants.” On some occasions they have not even had to go to court, as happened with a company that intended to “invest in a new plant in Asia.” “We wrote to them and gave them all the reasons why they should not do it and explained the litigation we had already won.” “Finally, they responded and said they had reconsidered and decided they would not invest in that coal plant.”
ClientEarth has also sued fossil fuel companies, such as Shell. In the future they will continue that line. “I think it is very important that we keep the pressure on fossil fuels to accelerate the transition,” but he adds: “We also have to look at how legal levers can be used to transform our agricultural systems, because many people understand the connection between the big oil companies and climate change, but, in reality, agriculture represents 25% of global emissions.”
This same week three other NGOs have joined eight victims of the climate crisis to file a lawsuit in Paris against the French oil company TotalEnergies. The novelty of this lawsuit (this company has already accumulated eight environmental lawsuits in France) is that it intends to use criminal proceedings against the company’s directors and main shareholders. ClientEarth is not handling this case and, as Clarke points out, criminal proceedings are not a route their lawyers usually use. “It seems to us that well-established corporate law or environmental law works well, but actually finding different strategies, being creative, is something very powerful.” And, especially, this diplomat highlights the positive of “pointing to the responsibility of company managers.” “Very often managers hide behind the anonymity of the company name, but all decisions are made by individuals.”
Will we ever see a conviction against the oil company directors? “We cannot rule it out,” he says of the possibility of a criminal or civil conviction. And he gives as an example an interesting case that is being developed in Poland against the energy company Enea and its former directors for investments made in the past. “Even though they have left their positions, they have been sued. It is worth making everyone aware that responsibility does not end when you leave a position, but you could be held responsible in the future.”
Ecopostureo
One of the topics on which ClientEarth has focused its efforts in recent years is ecopostureo (greenwashing in English) of companies of all kinds that try to sell themselves as green without being so. “He greenwashing It is really harmful because it creates complacency, it makes people think that everything is fine and that climate action is within reach. But in reality the consumer is being misled, the public is being misled, and climate action is being delayed.” But Clarke also believes that it is an unfair situation for companies that are doing the right thing.
In that sense, Clarke cites the confrontation in court between Repsol and Iberdrola. The electricity company has sued the oil company for ecopostureo. “It is interesting to see that companies are now using this type of litigation. They are saying: if I make all this effort to transition my business model and be much more sustainable, I should get an advantage and it is not fair for a company that is not making that effort to claim that it is green and sustainable when it is not. is”.
The first demands for greenwashing Filed by ClientEarth date back to 2019. They started with a complaint against a BP (British Petroleum) advertisement, and the NGO managed to have the campaign withdrawn. But they have also had cases against other oil companies such as TotalEnergies. And a few months ago they won another important victory against the airline KLM: “The court agreed with us that KLM’s advertising, which spoke of sustainable aviation fuels and was based on emissions compensation, was misleading the public. consumer”. Clarke points out that this ruling – the first eco-posturing ruling in the aviation sector – has meant that the European Commission “is now investigating 20 airlines for misleading consumers in their advertising.”
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