Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Climate Change definition

What does Climate Change mean? In legal practice, climate change describes long-term shifts in the Earth’s climate that inform environmental regulation, planning and EIA, governance and disclosure (ESG/TCFD), finance and litigation. Across the UK and Ireland it is generally a descriptive term rather than one exhaustively defined in statute or case law; climate legislation (for example, the Climate Change Act 2008 and analogous Acts in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland) addresses related concepts such as greenhouse gas emissions, mitigation, adaptation and net zero targets, and instruments adopt their own definitions (for example, the UNFCCC’s focus on anthropogenic change). The term refers to identifiable, persistent changes (typically...

UK climate change law: emissions targets, carbon budgets and net zero—framework, devolved systems, CCC oversight, international obligations, adaptation, progress and litigation

Published by a LexisNexis Environment expert

Practice notes

Introduction

Climate Change describes prolonged shifts in global temperatures and weather patterns. These may occur naturally, for example through changes in the solar cycle. Since the 1800s, however, human activity has been the principal driver of climate change, chiefly through burning fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas. Their combustion releases carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4), which trap heat in the atmosphere and are commonly called greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Clearing land and forests also releases CO2 that would otherwise remain stored in trees and soils. Energy, industry, transport, buildings, agriculture and land use are among the largest GHG sources.

Rising global temperatures are bringing more extreme weather, including heatwaves, drought, and increasingly intense, devastating storms, occurring more often. In turn, these lead to water scarcity, severe fires, melting polar ice and flooding. The impacts are felt by people and nature at local, regional and global scales.

Climate change is complex. It encompasses a wide array of inter-related impacts: direct and indirect, secondary and cumulative, trans-boundary, short-, medium- and long-term, permanent and temporary, with both positive and negative effects. These effects persist over varying periods...

To view the latest version of this document and thousands of others like it, sign-in with LexisNexis or register for a free trial.

Web page updated on 22/05/2026

Popular documents

Using the Judicial College Guidelines to assess general damages in personal injury claims

When evaluating a general damages claim, the practitioner ought initially to refer to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG)...

Tomlin orders in England and Wales: CPR guidance on drafting, confidentiality, approval, variation, enforcement, limitation, CCA issues, court-specific requirements, sample wording and precedents

This Practice Note This Practice Note reviews mechanisms used in settling litigation. A Tomlin order consists of a consent order paired with a schedule. It operates to stay proceedings on terms that have been agreed. The provisions contained in the schedule may remain confidential. This Practice Note describes the scope of confidentiality attaching to the schedule and sets out how it differs from a standard consent order. Sample wording for a Tomlin order is included, alongside links to precedents, as well as guidance on court approval. It also addresses varying, setting aside and enforcing a Tomlin order, including the considerations the court will take into account when handling applications for each. Further guidance is provided on interpreting and applying the relevant provisions of the CPR; however, some courts and divisions impose very specific requirements for both drafting and approval, and for approaching the schedule and confidentiality issues. Accordingly, you must consider the particular rules and court guide provisions in the forum where your claim is proceeding when drawing up the Tomlin order...

Precedent: Deed of Surrender of Lease with Optional Premium, Settlement and Release, Landlord, Mortgagee and Guarantor Consents, Reimbursement and HM Land Registry Provisions (England and Wales)

Date [ date ] Parties [ name of Landlord ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Landlord) [ name of Tenant ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Tenant) [ [ name of Guarantor ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Guarantor) ] [ [ name of Mortgagee ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Mortgagee) ] Definitions Within this Deed, the terms below shall be interpreted as follows: [ Annual Rent • the annual sum reserved under the Lease; ] [ Insurance Rent • the Tenant’s share of the Landlord’s costs of insuring the Property (as set out in the Lease); ] Lease • the lease of the Property dated [ date ], entered into between (1) [ the Landlord OR [ name ...

Precedent Statutory Declaration: Standard Wording under the Statutory Declarations Act 1835

I, [ name ], of [ address ], solemnly and sincerely state that: [ Matters to be verified, set out in numbered paragraphs ] I make this solemn statement in good conscience, believing it to be true, and pursuant to the provisions of the Statutory Declarations Act 1835. DECLARED at [ details ] this [ day ] day of [ month and year ] Before me ................................................................................ [ signature of the person before whom the declaration is made ] A [ commissioner for oaths OR [ solicitor OR [ insert other qualification ] ] authorised to administer oaths ]...