The escalating extreme weather events of 2025 have intensified the global climate crisis, triggering urgent demands for economy-wide emission reductions, mandatory carbon pricing, and a fundamental reset of the Global Plastics Treaty. We are witnessing a critical shift marked by expanding carbon markets, heightened scrutiny of greenwashing, and a significant rise in polluter pays litigation. In this increasingly fragmented geopolitical landscape, a practical, global guide to Environment and Climate Change law has become an indispensable resource. Now in its 23rd edition, this publication offers a comprehensive analysis of the practical legal challenges defining the Environment and Climate Change landscape across 16 jurisdictions. We are proud to present indispensable insights from the worlds leading legal experts, complemented by high-level Expert Analysis on emerging trends from Steptoe LLP and the United Kingdom Environmental Law Association (UKELA). We are immensely grateful to the leading practitioners and specialists whose expertise defines this publication. In particular, we thank our contributing editors, Darren Abrahams and Tom Gillett from Steptoe LLP, for their exceptional guidance and leadership in steering this project to a successful conclusion.
1 International Legal Order: Help or Hindrance in Decarbonising
Aviation?, Steph David & David Kay, UKELA
6 The Rise and Rise of Pragmatism: A New Era for UK Chemicals Policy?, Darren
Abrahams & Tom Gillett, Steptoe International (UK) LLP
11 An Analysis of the EU Deforestation Regulation and Forest-Risk Commodities
Legislation in the United Kingdom, Ruxandra Cana, Elodie Briere & Josep
Nicolas Bellot, Steptoe LLP
15 Australia, Breellen Warry, Joshua Same, Patrick Ibbotson & Michael Winram,
Maddocks
25 Brazil, Rafael Fernando Feldmann & Victoria Elimelle de Weber, Cascione
Advogados
33 Bulgaria, Milan Pandev, Yana Obreshkova & Georgi Gruev, Djingov,
Gouginski, Kyutchukov & Velichkov
40 Canada, Richard Butler & Joanna Vince, Willms & Shier Environmental
Lawyers LLP
48 Cyprus, Eleni Neoptolemou & Anastasiya Popova, Harris Kyriakides
55 Egypt, Mahmoud Youssry, Ziad Asem, Mariam Nabil & Yasmin Yasser, Youssry
Saleh & Partners Law Firm
63 Germany, Dr. Wolf Friedrich Spieth, Niclas Hellermann, Dr. Justus Quecke &
Dr. Marinus Poehlmann, POSSER SPIETH WOLFERS & PARTNERS
72 India, Els Reynaers & Gautambala Nandeshwar, M.V. Kini Law Firm
82 Italy, David Alexander Röttgen & Andrea Fari, Ambientalex Studio Legale
Associato
91 Japan, Yasuyuki Kuribayashi, Yuko Toyoda & Akira Nagasaki, City-Yuwa
Partners
98 Mexico, Mariana Herrero, Carlos Escoto, Lucia Manzo & Gisela Ramirez,
Galicia Abogados
108 Poland, Dr Radoslaw Maruszkin, Jakub Bednarek, Michal Jedrzejczak & Jakub
Teler, Maruszkin Law Firm
114 Slovenia, Domen Neffat & Jure Maffi, Neffat and Partners Law Firm
122 Taiwan, Wei-sung Hsiao & Chun-wei Chen, Lee and Li, Attorneys-at-Law
128 United Kingdom, Darren Abrahams, Tom Gillett & Alzbeta Hermankova,
Steptoe International (UK) LLP
137 USA, Denise A. Dragoo & Sukhmani K. Singh, Snell & Wilmer
