National Emergency Briefing for Law on the Climate and Nature Crisis

The climate and nature crisis poses a threat to all parts of society, including the rule of law . This affects every sector, from finance and insurance, to health, employment, infrastructure and crime.
The National Emergency Briefing exists to ensure that the UK is clearly and honestly briefed on the implications of climate and nature breakdown, and on what a proportionate national response requires.
It ensures that leaders across government, business, and civil society, who are shaping policy and practice, are fully informed.
This briefing, specifically for the legal profession, will use science to set out the implications of the crisis for food systems, national security, nature, weather, energy and financial risk, as well as present clear evidence that urgent action will strengthen our economy, resilience, and quality of life.
Climate literacy is a core skill for the entire legal profession and the judiciary. The objective is that the briefing will increase the profession’s collective understanding of the risks our clients face.
A wide range of legal organisations have come together to make this event possible, with the support of the National Emergency Briefing team.
Chair – Lord Sales, Deputy President of the Supreme Court
Lord Sales became a Justice of the Supreme Court in January 2019 and took up appointment as Deputy President of the Court in January 2026.
Welcome - Kirsty Brimelow KC, Chair of the Bar Council of England and Wales
Kirsty Brimelow KC is Chair of the Bar for 2026. Kirsty practises in criminal, international and public law from Doughty Street Chambers, where she serves on the management board as Head of the Criminal Law Team.
Andrew Masraf, Senior Partner, Pinsent Masons LLP
Andrew is the Global Senior Partner of Pinsent Masons LLP and chairs the firm's Board.
Speakers:
Prof Paul Behrens (on food supply)
British Academy Global Professor and expert in food system transformations
Paul Behrens is a renowned sustainability scientist and British Academy Global Professor at the Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford, where he leads research on the intersection of climate, energy, and food systems.
Prof Hayley Fowler (on weather)
Professor of Climate Change Impacts at Newcastle University
Hayley Fowler is one of the UK’s leading experts on extreme rainfall and flooding. Her research advances understanding of how precipitation extremes are changing in a warming world and develops improved projections to guide climate adaptation. Hayley was recently awarded the prestigious Royal Society Faraday Discovery Fellowship for "exceptional mid-career research leaders" to further her work on extreme weather.
Tessa Khan (on energy transition)
Executive Director of Uplift and expert in energy transition
Tessa Khan is a lawyer and campaigner and the founder and Executive Director of Uplift, an organisation that works towards a just transition away from oil and gas in the UK. Before founding Uplift, she was co-founder and Co-Director of the Climate Litigation Network, which supports strategic litigation around the world.
Prof Tim Lenton (on tipping points)
Chair in Climate Change and Earth System Science at the University of Exeter
Professor Tim Lenton OBE has more than 25 years research experience, focused on modelling life’s coupling to the Earth system, biogeochemical cycles, climate dynamics, and associated tipping points. Tim is world-renowned for his work identifying climate tipping points, which informed the setting of the “well below 2°C” climate target. Recently he has highlighted the opportunities for positive tipping points to accelerate social change towards net zero greenhouse gas emissions and global sustainability.
Lt General Richard Nugee (on national security)
Senior British Army Officer (retired)
Lieutenant General Richard Nugee CB CVO CBE is a former senior British Army officer and leading voice on climate and national security. His 35-year military career included operational tours in Northern Ireland, the Balkans, Iraq, and Afghanistan, where he served as Chief of Staff to NATO’s ISAF Joint Command. He later became Chief of Defence People and was awarded the US Legion of Merit.
Prof Nathalie Seddon (on nature)
Founding Director of the Nature-based Solutions Initiative and The Agile Initiative at the University of Oxford
Nathalie Seddon is Professor of Biodiversity at the University of Oxford. A former Royal Society University Research Fellow and recent recipient of a prestigious Marsh Award for Ecology, she trained as an evolutionary ecologist at the University of Cambridge and has over 25 years’ experience working across ecosystems worldwide.
Sandy Trust (on corporate risk)
Planet Solvency Lead at the Institute & Faculty of Actuaries
Sandy Trust is the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries Planetary Solvency lead. Planetary Solvency marries the risk professionalism of actuaries with the deep understanding of Earth System science to shine a light on under-appreciated and unexamined tail risks in our approach to climate change. His reports highlight the increasing risk of Planetary Insolvency, defined as severe societal disruption from the loss of biosphere integrity. He advises a number of regulator and policymaker groups on these topics.
Organised by:
Zoe Leventhal KC, Matrix Chambers
Amanda Carpenter, CEO, Achill Legal
In partnership with Pinsent Masons LLP, the National Emergency Briefing, Legal Charter 1.5, the Legal Sustainability Alliance, the Bar Council, UKELA, ALBA, the Chancery Bar Association, PEBA, the Property Bar Association, the Bar Sustainability Network and Kingsley Napley.