Public Law and the Planet

How can we use the law to ensure governments deliver climate justice?

At a time when the impacts of the climate crisis are becoming ever more urgent, this event offers a vital space for people committed to using the law to hold those in power to account.

This conference will provide a forum for legal advocacy and activism, bringing together community groups, lawyers, NGOs, and policymakers to share insights, strengthen networks, and help drive meaningful change.

Presented in partnership with King’s Legal Clinic, the Centre for Climate Law and Governance, the Administrative Fairness Lab and Landmark Chambers.

This page is for booking in-person attendance. To book for the online version, please visit this page.

• Date: Tuesday 3 March from 10:00 to 18:00
• Location: Great Hall, King’s College London, Strand, WC2R 2LS
• Format: In-person with hybrid option available for some parts of the event

Ticket pricing

• Standard: £160
  For those in private practice, government and public bodies
• Discounted: £99
  For NGOs, charities, trainees, pupils and paralegals, researchers and academics at universities
• Concession: £50
  For community groups or smaller charities with under circa £250k income
• Contribution: £30
  For organisations or individuals with very little training budget
• Student: £20 (now sold out)
  For students in full-time education making the booking using a valid university email address.
  *Please note student tickets are limited.
• Free / complimentary tickets:  Available to activists and campaigners with no budget.  Please note we will ask for a £20 deposit to be refunded on the day in cash.  Please contact [email protected].

Please note:

• In-person tickets are limited and offered on a first-come first-served basis due to capacity.
• Unfortunately, we are unable to issue invoices for tickets under £50 due to our finance policy.
• We are hosting  free live webinar, ‘An introduction to public law for environmental campaigners’, on Tuesday 24 February to help those less familiar with public law and the environment to prepare for this event. Please book here.

Programme

09:30-10:00 Registration & refreshments

10:00 Welcome to delegates

• Sue Willman KC (Hon), King’s Legal Clinic

10:00-10:15 Opening address

• Jamie Peters, Interim CEO, Public Law Project

10:15-11:00 Debate: How do we best use the law to tackle the climate and nature crisis?

Our panel will debate perspectives on the use of the law, from using public law to enforce and improve climate governance,  to campaigning for better law and policy, to protest and civil disobedience.

• Chair: Professor Megan Bowman, Centre for Climate Law & Governance, King’s College London
• Tessa Khan, Uplift
• Tim Crosland, Plan B Earth
• Kate Tandy, Office of Environmental Protection

11:00-11:50 Environmental and climate governance: The duties on the state

What are the UK’s duties to tackle climate change and biodiversity loss? We will consider this question in the light of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling in July 2025, as well as the impact of related opinions from the ITLOS and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) and other sources. Our panel will also consider the duty on states to regulate private actors effectively. 

• Margherita Cornaglia, Landmark Chambers
• Harj Narulla, Doughty Street Chambers
• Dr Leslie-Anne Duvic-Paoli, King’s College London

11:50-12:10 Break

12:10-13:10 Morning breakout (choose one of four)

1.  Environmental protest: protecting activists and campaigners 

With the state often using coercive tactics and seeking overreaching powers to curtail protest, this session will look at criminal and civil action against activists, and specifically environmental activists, and defences, including those based on equalities law and fundamental constitutional rights.

• Chair: Justine Taylor, Not1More
• Dr Daniella Lock, The Dickson Poon School of Law, King’s College London
• Katie de Kauwe, Friends of the Earth
• Talia Woodin, Activist and filmmaker
• Katy Watts, Liberty

2. A human rights approach to the climate crisis

This session looks at a human rights and intersectional approaches to the climate crises, including through the consideration of impacts regarding disability, gender, age, poverty and race. How can a human rights approach help us focus campaigning and consider effective and appropriate options for litigation? Our panel will also look at cases, both pending and settled, in the ECHR.

• Chair: Dr Hannah Blitzer, Soil Association and environmental campaigner
• Catherine Higham, The Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
• Doug Pauley, Disability campaigner and litigant
• Rowan Smith, Leigh Day
• Kate Cook, Matrix Chambers

3. Climate reparations

This session looks at state responsibility for ensuring there are reparations for rights and nature violations, including displacement, caused by climate change and related impacts. It will take a cross disciplinary approach looking at public law, public international law and corporate responsibility where there are clear regulatory or state failures.  Our panelists will specifically look at how climate change is accelerating coastal erosion, which disproportionately affects smaller coastal communities across the UK.

• Chair: Samantha Knights KC, Matrix Chambers
• Harj Narulla, Doughty Street Chambers
• Dr Niccolò Ridi, Centre for International Governance and Dispute Resolution (CIGAD), KCL
• Yumna Kamel, Earth Refuge
• Simon Measures, Save Hemsby Coastline

4. Data rights and evidencing environmental campaigns and cases

This session will look at data rights, enforcing transparency and obtaining relevant data, as well as preparing and presenting evidence for campaigns and cases.

• Lucas Amin, Investigative Journalist and co-founder at Democracy for Sale
• Josephine Moulds, The Bureau of Investigative Journalism
• Alex Shattock, Landmark Chambers
  Another speaker TBC

13:10-14:15 Lunch

14:15-15:15 Domestic courts and climate change: challenges and opportunities
The panel will reflect on the role of UK domestic courts in responding to climate change. It will also explore the opportunities (and challenges) associated with implementing international legal developments in the UK domestic context.

• Chair: Alex Goodman KC, Landmark Chambers
• Dr Sonam Gordhan, King College London
• Niall Toru, Friends of the Earth
• Ricardo Gama, Leigh Day
• Estelle Dehon KC, Cornerstone Barristers’

15:15-16:30 Afternoon breakout (choose one of four)

5. Developing and enforcing Rights of Nature

This session looks at the concept of the rights of nature, and how campaigners and lawyers are advancing the concept in the UK, in other jurisdictions and internationally.  

• Chair: Alice Wood, Public Law Project 
• Paul Powlesland, Garden Court Chambers
• Monica Feria-Tinta, Twenty Essex, author of A Barrister for the Earth
• Emma Montlake, Environmental Law Foundation
• Professor Jérémie Gilbert, Professor of Social and Ecological Justice, Southampton Law School

6.  Can planning law save the environment?

This session will look at use of planning law to challenge environmentally damaging projects and protect communities, including what affect the Planning and Infrastructure Bill will have on both challenges and appeals.

• Charles Bishop, Landmark Chambers
• Rosa Curling, Foxglove
• Dr Naomi Luhde-Thompson, Oxford Brookes University and CEO of Rights Community Action
• Emma Dearnaley, River Action UK
  Another speaker TBC

7.  Funding and costs in environmental claims

How do you fund claims and help ensure access to justice for environmental groups and litigants? This session will look at current issues in and use of legal aid, crowdfunding, litigation funding, and Aarhus costs capping protections.

• Chair: Acland Bryant, Garden Court Chambers
• Carol Day, Leigh Day
• Tom Brenan, Environmental Law Foundation
• Chris Johnston, CrowdJustice
• Sophie Marjanac, Polluter Pays

8.  Working with communities internationally

This panel will discuss the question: ‘How are communities working with lawyers internationally, and particularly in the UK, to use the law to enforce rights – both through soft law approaches and through the courts?’. 

• Sue Willman KC (Hon), King’s Legal Clinic
• Samantha Atukunnda Kakuru Mwesigwa, Greenwatch
• Pascale Bird, Legal Response International
• Kyle Lischak, ClientEarth

  Another speaker TBC

9. Open-source breakout: What do you want to talk about?

This is a less formal discussion session breakout facilitated by barristers from Landmark Chambers. The discussion topic(s) will be chosen from suggestions from participants.

Potential topics for discussion so far include ‘Conservation vs the climate,’ ‘Divestment and regulatory challenges’ and ‘Ethical duties on lawyers in the climate crisis’.

16:30-16:45 Break

16:45-17:45 Effective use of the law by communities and frontline organisations protecting the environment

This session will look at how communities and smaller frontline organisations can use the law effectively to protect the environment.   

• Tina Louise Rothery, Anti-fracking Nana and environmental campaigner 
• Sarah Finch, activist and campaigner, Weald Action Group
• Susheela Math, Systemic Justice
• Laura Neal, Friends of the Earth Northern Ireland
  Another speaker TBC

17:45-18:00 Closing address

• Asad Rehman, Director, Friends of the Earth

18:00 Event finishes, followed by samba with Rhythms of Resistance & drinks reception

To view a full screen version of Sajan Rai’s illustration for the event click here.