We are delighted to announce that we have not one, but two keynote speakers at this year’s Annual Conference, whose collective impact on environmental law is hugely significant.
We are joined this year by Tessa Khan, international climate change lawyer and campaigner, and Estelle Dehon KC, leading public law barrister at the forefront of climate litigation in the UK, and UKELA trustee.
Tessa 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 production in the UK. Before founding Uplift, she was co-founder and Co-Director of the Climate Litigation Network, which supports strategic climate litigation around the world. She has spent two decades supporting grassroots, regional and international movements for justice and has served as an expert advisor to UN human rights bodies and national governments, while working in Thailand, Egypt, India, the US, the Netherlands and Australia.
Her writing has been published in international media outlets and academic publications, and she has been invited to speak at the United Nations and events convened by the Financial Times, the Economist, and TED. She is also a regular media commentator. In 2019, she was named by TIME magazine as one of fifteen women leading the fight against climate change. Tessa is also a recipient of a Climate Breakthrough award, the largest climate action grant for individuals.
Estelle is a leading public law barrister at Cornerstone Barristers, with a broad practice encompassing environment and planning, information law, election law and human rights. She has particular expertise in climate change, energy infrastructure, biodiversity, environmental governance and just transition. She is at the forefront of climate litigation in the UK, including acting for the successful appellant in the Supreme Court in Finch and recently arguing the legal challenge to the UK’s aviation climate strategy.
On policy matters, Estelle is advising local authorities across Essex and London on promoting low and zero carbon buildings and is also a member of the cross-disciplinary group Don’t Waste Buildings. Estelle has been a UKELA trustee since 2019. She took silk in 2022 and founded the cross-disciplinary centre of excellence for climate litigation and advice, Cornerstone Climate, in 2023.
With the theme ‘Back to the Future – Environmental Law in a New Era’, this year’s conference will bring together leading experts, practitioners, and policymakers to discuss critical issues shaping the field. Conference is taking place online on 17/18 June, followed by an in-person gathering at Bristol University on 20/21 June (hybrid).
For further information, and to book your ticket, go to our website.
