In a recent article entitled 'We're all climate journalists now': how the weather took over everything, ten Guardian journalists describe how the climate crisis is changing their jobs in areas as diverse as business, agriculture, sport and visual journalism. A parallel may be drawn with lawyers, since climate-related issues are now spilling into every area of the law.
Many lawyers and other professionals in the legal field have been doing excellent and important work on these issues for a long time and their engagement and encouragement is inspiring.
As an arbitration and mediation practitioner, I have signed up to the Campaign for Greener Arbitrations and the Mediators Green Pledge, both of which are significant initiatives to encourage “greener” case management.
However, like most of us, I am acutely aware that greater personal responsibility is urgently needed.
My firm is therefore pledging to use dispute resolution processes, particularly mediation, to further the climate change and environmental agenda.
No single dispute resolution process suits every case. Litigation and arbitration are crucial and necessary armoury but can be lengthy and expensive: time is not on our side and funds are not always available to litigate or arbitrate.
Mediation offers a very real possibility of resolving a significant number of disputes faster and at lower cost. Critically, mediation also opens the way to a range of stakeholders (whether individuals, communities, businesses, charities, governments …) coming together in one conflict resolution process. Everyone can have their say and work towards finding innovative solutions to the issues at stake in the timescales that are necessary if there is to be any hope of stalling the climate emergency.
