Climate Clauses and Sustainability Breaches

A suite of new decarbonisation laws and a number of developments in green finance and supply chain regulation are increasingly depending on contract law for adequate implementation and enforcement. Private parties are relying on number of new clauses and contractual remedies to adequately protect their interests in meeting climate targets and undertaking sustainable due diligence. The uptake of climate clauses, like those formulated by The Chancery Lane Project (TCLP) and the Responsible Contracting Project (RCP), is steadily increasing  as companies navigate new risks with a greater emphasis on supply chains as a “network” of contracts. However, many of these clauses are yet to form the basis of disputes and remain unchartered territory as far as litigation is concerned. Where contractual breaches arise, many of these clauses are providing innovative remedies underpinned by a duty of cooperation between parties. This session seeks to explore contractual remedies where sustainability provisions are breached. We will be looking at a number of template clauses from the Loan Market Association, TCLP, and RCP. Understanding these clauses is important for understanding the types of disputes that may arise in implementing green standards in everyday business transactions. This is particularly important as 90% of S&P 500 companies reported releasing ESG reports in 2024.

Dr Pia Rebelo is an admitted attorney from South Africa and a lecturer in private law. She obtained her LLB and LLM at the University of Cape Town and completed her PhD at the City Law School, City, University of London. Her research interests are focused on the contractual mechanisms employed to facilitate and incentivise a green shipping transition. She has published work on green finance frameworks, green supply chain finance, climate clauses, climate litigation, and contractual solutions for energy efficiency.

Student members (including transferring lawyers) must attend all elements of the event in order to be awarded the Qualifying Session. This includes any lecture/talk/reception/dinner/speeches.

Members of the Inn only

Click here to see details of the QS Requirements and how to be credited with the QS for this session

Learning Aims

After this session, students should be able to:

• Identify and analyse the role of contract law in facilitating regulatory compliance for decarbonisation and sustainability.
• Evaluate new contractual mechanisms that seek to implement sustainability standards to determine whether they are effective sites of control for contractual risk management.
• Investigating potential disputes arising from these new contractual mechanisms and identifying adequate remedies.

Links to the Professional Statement, wider workings of the Bar, administration of justice or a public interest matter

• TBC

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