Lawyer Monthly Magazine - February 2020 Edition

Daniel Clery stating that fusion power may “turn out to be possible, but not practical... we will never know until we try and unless governments and the power industry invest more, it will be decades until we find out.” Unfortunately, Rubbia, your plea to those at Davos wasn’t enough. But did she manage to enforce change regarding fossil fuel consumption? Simply answered: no. Figure 2 (previous page) showcases that global consumption of fossil energy increased more than 1300-fold; with the 20th century welcoming a more diversified range of consumption, we saw coal production declining but crude oil increasing. Over ten years later in 1997, the UK was given a new target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions due to signing of the Kyoto Protocol to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, but overall, even though environmental concerns were receiving more attention around this time, it was not a central driver for policy and regulatory changes. And so we fast forward to 2016 to when Leonardo DiCaprio spoke about how “We simply cannot afford to allow the corporate greed of the coal, oil and gas industries to determine the future of humanity. Those entities with a financial interest in preserving this destructive system have denied, and even covered up, the evidence of our changing climate”, when accepting the World Economic Forum’s Crystal Award for his environmentalism. Actually, prior to his speech, a lot more effort was made by governments to address climate change. New legislations were enacted in order to reduce the globe’s emissions; in fact, in 1997 there were just 60 laws in place, with the figure rising 20-fold to reach 1,260 in 2017. Does this prove there is no need to stand in a room full of stiff politicians and ego- fuelled businesspeople up in a Swiss mountain to get your agenda across? Concerns for the environment is just one small topic addressed in the high mountains of Davos. Perhaps if investment or taxes were of a big concern, more impact would be made. Nonetheless we cannot ignore the effect it has on businesses who take the opportunity at Davos to speak about how they are tackling sustainability and diversity in the workplace. And the talks at Davos does enforce some change, especially in relation to their environmental initiative; an example being how businesses now need to adapt to the younger generation’s need for sustainability . But we do question how long these changes will last and the impact it will have. If nothing is written in law, it makes it a little too easy for businesses to fall back on their word, or, not have to do anything at all. You can take to the stand and cry about fossil fuels all you want, but we are still consuming them at a fast rate. And where shouting at businesses to try harder at being environmentally friendly is a good attempt, it may simply never be enough without a gavel and signature. LM - 14 - WWW.LAWYER-MONTHLY.COM After their 2019 meeting, the WEF released a message stating that ‘complying with the law’ is no longer enough for large corporations Climate change laws around the world. Legislative laws are passed by parliaments, whereas executive laws or policies are enacted by governments. Source: Global trends in climate legislation and litigation, 2017 update.