As pressure builds on companies to conduct increased forced labour due diligence on their supply chains, Jamas Hodivala KC explores some of the practical issues that can arise with Kate Larsen, Director at SupplyESChange.

In this episode of A Common Concern, we discuss the meaning, scope and application of the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment. This right has been recognised by the UN General Assembly and endorsed by the International Court of Justice and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Kate Cook is joined by environmental and human rights expert and former Head of Legal at Friends of the Earth, Gita Parihar, and by Sean O'Connell, the Global Focal Point on Environmental Justice at the UN Development Programme. Gita and Sean are currently engaged in developing a tool to assist national human rights institutions in ensuring that this right can be operated effectively. Ten years on from the adoption of the Paris Agreement, does this right provide a way to address the growing triple planetary crisis?

In this episode, Suzanne Rab explores how ESG considerations are reshaping regulation across UK network and utility sectors. As ESG rises in prominence in energy, water, transport, telecoms and financial services, regulators face an increasingly complex balancing act: ensuring resilience and fairness while maintaining affordability and driving long-term sustainability. The discussion highlights how the UK Regulators Network (UKRN) provides a unique platform for regulators to collaborate, share lessons and address common challenges in this evolving landscape. Suzanne is joined by three speakers who each bring deep cross-sector regulatory experience. Barbara Perata-Smith, Lead on UKRN’s Net Zero Programme, discusses her work coordinating decarbonisation efforts across sectors, drawing on her background in sustainability and environmental policy at the Civil Aviation Authority. Sital Patel, on secondment from the Financial Conduct Authority, reflects on her 25-year legal and regulatory career and her commitment to public protection, including her work on the FCA’s Motor Finance Review and her advisory role with Ofcom. Kev Smith, who has spent four decades in financial services and regulation, outlines UKRN’s cross-cutting networks and the value of shared regulatory understanding. Together, the speakers examine how collaboration can drive more effective, future-ready regulation in the ESG era.

In this episode, Jamas Hodivala KC discusses with Nick Dale (former Superintendent at West Midlands Police and now Director of Intelligence at Stop the Traffik) and Sian Lea (Head of UK and European Advocacy at Anti-Slavery International) the role of Governments, companies and NGOs when conducting forced labour due diligence in supply chains.

In this second episode of Season 2 of the ESG: Global podcast, Jamas Hodivala KC celebrates the 10th anniversary of Mark Carney’s “Tragedy of the Horizon” speech with his guest Dr Ben Caldecott, a sustainable finance expert. They discuss the origins of the speech, the adequacy of leadership regarding climate-related investment, the supervisory role of the Bank of England in climate-related finance, the impact of the recent collapse of the Net Zero Banking Alliance, the UK’s implementation of climate transition plans and the future role of China in sustainable finance.

In this episode of A Common Concern, Kate Cook talks to Greg Muttitt, Honorary Research Fellow at UCL and Senior Associate at the International Institute for Sustainable Development. Pushing back on current 'necessitarian' arguments against the phase out of fossil fuels, they explore what transition would look like. What are the comparative costs of transition versus retaining fossil fuels and what does transition mean for developed and developing country producers? How do we ensure that transition is genuinely just, equitable and orderly?

In this first episode of Season 2 of the ESG: Global podcast, Jamas Hodivala KC looks back a the 10 year anniversary of Mark Carney’s "Tragedy of the Horizon" speech, which considered the links between climate change and financial stability. His guest, Professor Iain Clacher, is a pensions expert and they discuss the effects of the speech on the pensions sector, including exploring the role that long-term investment decisions made by pension funds can have on climate change.

In this episode of A Common Concern, Kate Cook speaks to Dr Patrick Toussaint of African Futures Lab about the international legal response to climate related loss and damage. Kate and Patrick discuss the climate regime's Loss and Damage Fund and Warsaw International Mechanism, climate reparations and their connection to racial and postcolonial justice and the implications of the ICJ's Advisory Opinion on state responsibility. One common theme throughout their discussion is the gross mismatch between what is needed and what is currently available to address catastrophic impacts that are already occurring.

In this episode Florence Iveson discusses the implications of the International Court of Justice's much anticipated Advisory Opinion on Climate Change with Kate Cook and Toby Fisher. Their wide-ranging discussion looks at issues including the role of the temperature goal in the climate regime, the limited discretion in relation to NDCs and what we now know about state responsibility, and what still remains to be determined...

In this episode, Emma Foubister discusses the right to peaceful protest in the context of climate change and climate protests with Carol Day and Anirudh Mathur.

In Part 2 of "Smoke and Mirrors: Geoengineering and International Law", Kate Cook and Mary Church of CIEL look more closely at the legal implications of these technologies including current international restrictions on their deployment, adopted under a number of different treaty regimes, as well as the implications of human rights law and the climate regime.

Advocates of geoengineering claim that these technologies provide a potential solution to climate change, but many question their feasibility and harmful impacts and see them simply as a means to prolong the life of the fossil fuel industry. This two part episode looks at the evidence and the law in relation to geoengineering. In the first part of this episode, Kate Cook and Mary Church of CIEL discuss the specific potential environmental, economic and social impacts of the various technologies referred to as geoengineering and the approach taken by the IPCC. 

Climate related displacement is already occurring and likely to increase significantly in the next few decades. In this episode of A Common Concern: the Climate Justice Podcast, Kate Cook is joined by Alex Randall, founder of the Climate and Migration Coalition and by Raza Husain KC and Sam Knights KC from Matrix to discuss current legal protections under international refugee, climate and human rights law and the risk that increasingly large numbers of displaced or vulnerable people will fall through gaps in protection. What can be done to close these gaps?

In episode 4of A Common Concern: The Climate Justice Podcast, Emma Foubister discusses the role of criminal law in the context of climate impacts on human health and life with Florence Iveson and Professor Cindy Cho.

In this episode of A Common Concern: The Climate Justice Podcast, Kate Cook discusses workers’ rights and climate change with Kalina Arabadjieva of the European Trade Union Institute. From the principles and standards of the International Labour Organisation to the provisions of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, from the rules of the EU Green Deal to the three pillars of the Aarhus Convention, there are many points of intersection between international labour law and climate law. Kate and Kalina discuss the potential for mutual reinforcement in relation to the protection of workers both from the direct impacts of climate change, including heat stress, and in relation to securing a just transition for the workforce in the context of decarbonization. Is closer integration between workers’ rights and climate law a key way to secure climate justice in the face of colossal challenges across the world?

In this episode, Florence Iveson discusses the Omnibus Proposal issued by the European Commission on 26 February 2025 with business and human rights experts Olivia Windham Stewart and Daniel Schonfelder. The episode provides first takes on 5 of the major changes to the CSDDD that have been proposed by the Commission and on the next stages to any amendment process.

In this week's episode Helen Mountfield KC discusses recent legal developments in the US and the UK with Professor Jonathan Marks and David Wolfe KC. Discussion ranges from US cases on the right to a clean and healthy environment, to the legal implications of a new Executive Order on Unleashing American Energy. Across the Atlantic, we hear about recent judicial reviews scrutinising delivery of carbon budget obligations under the 2008 Climate Change Act and the consequences of scope 3 emission reporting for oil and gas licences. In all of this, the role of litigation is itself coming under the spotlight.

In A Common Concern, the Climate Justice Podcast we will be looking at the ways in which the law can, or might, address the urgent threat posed by climate change. We will look at the protection of the rights of those most impacted, including displaced people, workers and those most vulnerable due to current levels of poverty. We will also consider legal developments in other jurisdictions around the world, starting with the United States. Throughout the series, we will try to answer one key question, what role can the law play in closing the gap between where we are and where we need to get to, to avoid global environmental destruction and catastrophic loss of life and wellbeing. In that regard, we will also look at the legal implications of the science informing our understanding of climate change, bearing in mind that while governments may come and go, the laws of physics will continue to govern our world. In this first episode, Kate Cook is joined by Dr. Erik Mackie and Dr. Luke Kemp. Together, we will discuss the science behind climate tipping points and cascade risks.

In this episode, Jamas Hodivala KC discusses with Giles Crown, Partner at Taylor Wessing, greenwashing in marketing claims and current consumer protection legislation applying to such claims. They examine the recent Advertising Standards Authority's decision in Virgin Atlantic Ltd. and discuss key takeaways for businesses looking to advertise their green credentials, before looking at impending changes in EU greenwashing laws.

In this episode, Jamas Hodivala KC discusses with Laura Middleton the results of PWC’s first survey into where businesses see their ESG fraud and misconduct risks, and where this overlaps with its annual Economic Crime Survey. They also consider PWC’s ESG Fraud taxonomy and whether the survey results evidence that companies are currently identifying the relevant risks.