"Now our kids wake up screaming less"
On a chilly winter night, a little penguin dared to wonder: if daddy loves me, why does his law firm facilitate fossil fuel expansion?
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In 2025, the International Court of Justice ruled that countries have a legal duty to protect the climate and prevent harm to future generations, including fossil fuel expansion. This includes regulating the private sector.
Between 2020 and 2024, London law firms facilitated
$59.84 billion
in fossil fuel transactions*
The world already has enough approved fossil fuel projects to push past 1.5°C of warming. Each 0.1°C beyond that increases:
Deadly heat waves and crop failures.
Mass displacement and climate refugees.
Wildfires, flooding and storms.
The communities that contributed least to emissions will be hit first and hardest. Including penguins, who didn't emit anything at all.
*Source: The 2025 Law Firm Climate Change Scorecard by Law Students for Climate Accountability (LSCA)
To fulfill their duty of competence, lawyers should stay up-to-date on climate risks, and understand the fossil fuel industry's history of deception.
Expand and enforce professional codes to explicitly prohibit misleading courts or the public about climate science.
Require law firms to publicly report which oil and gas companies they represent and lobby for.
Reform legal awards and rankings to stop celebrating lawyers destroying the planet.
Create tools showing law firms' Scope 3 emissions, so clients can choose representation aligned with their values.
Make environmental and human rights considerations central to hiring, partnerships, career development, and firm governance.
Doing so on a 'climate-related protected belief' means you are unlikely to face regulatory action.
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