COP26 starts this Sunday and will be vital for business: Browne Jacobson will be tracking the developments
This is a key moment for addressing the risks and opportunities that climate change presents to businesses. We look at what COP26 will likely mean for your business.
This Sunday marks the opening of COP26 in Glasgow, with two weeks filled with summits, negotiations and hopefully, serious commitments and ambitious actions to tackle climate change. This is a key moment for addressing the risks and opportunities that climate change presents to businesses and the risks and opportunities that businesses and industries might themselves present.
COP26 will likely result in more – or more detailed and prescriptive - regulation of sustainability and climate change mitigation and adaptation, posing both risks and opportunities for business. As the host, it is also likely that the UK Government will announce further initiatives to follow the strategy papers previously published, including the 10-Point Plan for Green industrial Revolution, Industrial Decarbonisation Strategy, Transport Decarbonisation Strategy, Hydrogen Strategy, and recently published Net Zero Strategy.
The impacts of new regulation are likely to increase if the UK is to meet its 2050 net zero target. Particular changes are on the way in relation to the way we heat our homes and commercial buildings, and how the construction, food production and transport industries and systems operate. Innovation will be key to keeping pace with these regulatory changes, so that businesses can be competitive in shifting towards more sustainable products and seeking to attract new investment and customers.
Analysis published in August 2021 reported that the UK’s Low Carbon and Environmental Goods and Services (LCEGS) sector was worth £205.7bn to the UK’s economy in 2020/21, as indicated by the value of sales in the sector. These sales were generated by over 75,700 businesses that employed over 1.2 million people in the sector in 2020/21. For businesses at the vanguard of the development and deployment of low carbon technologies and methodologies, the increased regulation that will inevitably result from COP26 presents an opportunity to capitalise on early-mover advantage.
For a deeper dive of what COP26 means for your business and globally you can check out our latest COP26 webinar. We will be providing daily updates and we will be covering the developments immediately after the conference in our next webinar on 23 November 2021.
Related expertise
You may be interested in...
In Person Event
'Autonomous vehicles: what the future holds' event
Legal Update
Back in the (Investment) Zone… sort of
Opinion
Mediation – remote or in person?
Legal Update
Solar panel projects for higher education institutions
Opinion
The UK market offers the best value for commercial real estate
Legal Update - ESG in 3D
ESG in 3D - April 2023 (Edition 2)
Legal Update
Climate risk capital – a warning to insurers from the Bank of England
Legal Update
BNG update – BNG and tax implications: Government call for evidence
Opinion
Biodiversity Net Gain - Government publishes its metric consultation response & Natural England publishes their update biodiversity metric 4.0
Published Article
ClientEarth claim may expand scope of directors' duties
Press Release
Law firm Browne Jacobson appointed to work alongside the Government Legal Department - the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
Legal Update - Public matters newsletter
Public matters - February 2023
Legal Update
Product distribution – how to protect yourself from an early exit
Legal Update
Biodiversity Net Gain — Government publishes consultation response
Legal Update
Court of Appeal considers ‘proximate cause’ for Pollution or Contamination exclusion in All Risks policy
Legal Update
California bomb cyclone set to ‘to exceed $1bn’ in storm damage costs
Legal Update - Public matters newsletter
Public matters - January 2023
Press Release
Browne Jacobson advises Natural England on investigation of ‘first in its kind’ sentenced Devon farmer
Published Article
How the Environment Act affects existing contracts’
Press Release - #BeingBrowneJacobson
Driving positive change through investment: a corporate associate advising in the energy sector
Legal Update
Biodiversity Net Gain: positive for nature and an opportunity for landowners
Published Article
Consumer duty part 3 - 'The drill-down' into the 'cross-cutting' rules
On-Demand
Automotive webinar - EV charging points: contractual and liability issues to be aware of
On-Demand
Automotive webinar - Grant Funding and Collaboration Agreements
In this session, we examined the legal framework around grant funded collaborations and discussed the key risks to be aware of, including IP ownership and compliance with grant terms.
On-Demand
Automotive webinar - Commercial Contracts
Legal Update
Updated Greening Government Commitments 2021 – 2025 published
Press Release
Browne Jacobson advises sustainable waste solution provider Covanta Europe on its new Wellingborough based aggregate processing plant
Legal Update - ESG in 3D
ESG in 3D, December 2022
Legal Update
COP15: The most important unknown summit?
Legal Update
Long live king coal?
Legal Update
Voluntary offset markets for carbon – a bad atmosphere?
Press Release - #BeingBrowneJacobson
From associate to partner in an investment lifecycle - Ryan's story
On-Demand
The UK's green agenda - the outcomes of COP27 and actions since COP26
Press Release - #BeingBrowneJacobson
Browne Jacobson helps the Civil Aviation Authority take off with its modernisation masterplan
Legal Update
COP27 – what can we expect?
Press Release
Browne Jacobson’s retail lawyers advise Wilko on its strategic £48m sale and leaseback of Nottinghamshire distribution centre to DHL
National law firm Browne Jacobson has advised long standing retail client, Wilko on the sale and leaseback of its Nottinghamshire distribution centre in Worksop to logistics specialist DHL for £48m.
Legal Update
Beauty Industry - Plastic Packaging Tax
The war on plastic is being taken to a new level, and businesses that don’t consider sourcing recycled packaging materials could face costly implications.
Legal Update
Is this the end for free returns?
Earlier in the year a number of fashion retailers, boldly announced the introduction of a charging fee for returning any product purchased via their online store. Yet, despite this commercial, and perhaps somewhat controversial decision, at least one major fashion giant that adopted this approach has recorded ‘historic highs’ in its September profits. Browne Jacobson partner, Cat Driscoll who heads up the firm’s commercial team in Manchester and is also head of its Fashion & Beauty sector discusses whether this change has put the average consumer off and whether the days of free returns are long gone.
Legal Update
Floating offshore wind pipeline potential
