Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

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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...

Net zero and climate resilience in UK construction: risks, whole life carbon, contractual clauses, procurement and litigation

Published by a LexisNexis Construction expert

Practice notes

This Practice Note explores how climate change and the drive by the UK and other governments globally to reach net zero affect the construction sector and the way construction contracts are drafted. This influences the construction industry and the drafting of construction contracts.

Climate change risks and ramifications for construction contracts

It is widely recognised that climate change brings multiple threats across many industries, with a higher chance of severe and erratic weather, such as floods, drought and intense heat, which in turn would push hundreds of millions into poverty, diminish biodiversity and lead to species extinctions. In response, governments worldwide are acting to deliver ‘net zero’, meaning a condition where greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are counterbalanced by GHG removal, delivering an overall net zero emission over appropriate timescales. See also Practice Note: Sustainable business—decarbonisation and net zero.

Whole Life Carbon Management Guidance

In March 2026, the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA) issued the Whole Life Carbon Management Handbook to assist UK infrastructure and built environment schemes with embedding whole life carbon (WLC) management throughout the project lifecycle. The guidance sets out principles, standards and procedures to enable project teams to measure, cut and track WLC in alignment...

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Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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