The law and climate: An address from Justice Brian Preston

Litigation on climate is growing, with the cumulative number of climate litigation cases worldwide more than doubling over the past five years.

The current wave of climate litigation is characterised by diverse types of legal claims and an increasing volume of cases brought in different jurisdictions.

Recent instances of climate litigation in Australia echo global trends and fall within three categories: litigation aimed at domestic accountability for climate action; litigation directed toward the private sector; and human rights litigation. 

In this event, the Honourable Justice Brian Preston, Chief Judge of the Land and Environment Court of NSW, will deliver a lecture on the subject, introduced by Bob Carr, Professor of Business and Climate, UTS.

Please join us on September 30 at 6pm as we hear from Justice Preston on the law and climate as part of this UTS4climate webinar series.

The Honourable Justice Brian J Preston FRSN SCis the Chief Judge of the Land and Environment Court of New South Wales. Prior to being appointed in November 2005, he was a senior counsel practising primarily in New South Wales in environmental, planning, administrative and property law. He has lectured in post-graduate environmental law for over 30 years. He is the author of Australia’s first book on environmental litigation and 139 articles, book chapters and reviews on environmental law, administrative and criminal law. He holds numerous editorial positions in environmental law publications and has been involved in a number of international environmental consultancies and capacity-building programs, including for judiciaries throughout Asia, Africa and the European Union. 

Justice Preston is an Official Member of the Judicial Commission of NSW, Fellow of the Australian Academy of Law, Fellow of the Royal Society of NSW and Honorary Fellow of the Environment Institute of the Australia and New Zealand. 

The Honourable Bob Carr is Industry Professor (Business and Climate Change) at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS). 

Professor Carr works with the Institute for Sustainable Futures and the UTS School of Business, bringing his unique skills and experience to diverse portfolios, including business and industry, international relations and climate change research and policy. Professor Carr is a former Foreign Minister of Australia (2012-2013).

He is also the longest continuously serving Premier in New South Wales history (1995-2005). Between 2014-2019 he was Director of the Australia-China Relations Institute (ACRI) at UTS, the only think tank in Australia devoted to the study of the Australia-China relationship.