'Top judge urges lawyers to take stand on climate change', 17 January 2021

Lawyers have an obligation to follow the lead of "climate-conscious" practitioners and help repair a "wounded" planet, according to the nation's leading environment law judge. Justice Brian Preston, chief judge of the NSW Land and Environment Court, says that on top of advising their clients on legal issues, there are myriad ways for lawyers to follow "the path of climate consciousness"... Justice Preston says this could involve "moral counselling with clients", in which lawyers might "discuss the rightness or wrongness of the client’s projects or business activities and the impact of those projects or activities on people and the planet, including the climate change consequences of different courses of action"... The judge, who helped found the NSW Environmental Defenders Office in 1985, says lawyers "need to integrate ethical thinking and ethical action into their day-to-day legal practice"... "The courts of the future will be asked to determine the legality of present action and inaction of governments and enterprises in relation to climate change." He cites the example of Gloucester Resources, which appealed the minister’s refusal of consent to the Land and Environment Court, in warning against a "climate blind" approach. "Neither party initially raised the impact of the mine on climate change as an issue in the proceedings"...