New podcast explores why climate law isn’t delivering on climate ambition

A new podcast from Queen Mary University of London launches today, exploring one of the most pressing challenges in the global climate response: why climate law is not delivering change at the scale and speed required.

Making Climate Law Work, a collaboration between qLegal and the Energy and Climate Change Law Institute (ECCLI) at the Centre for Commercial Law Studies (CCLS), Queen Mary University of London, brings together leading academics, legal practitioners and policy experts to examine how legal tools are shaping climate action in practice. The project is led by Clemence Tanzi, qLegal Teaching Fellow and Podcast Project Lead, in collaboration with James Dallas and Maria Taylor from ECCLI.

Despite a rapid expansion in climate commitments and legal frameworks, significant gaps remain between ambition and implementation. The podcast explores the challenges of enforcing legal obligations across jurisdictions, as well as the growing role of climate litigation and corporate accountability.

Professor Silke Goldberg, partner at Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer and Honorary Professor at Queen Mary University of London, is among the contributors, offering insight into how legal frameworks are being used, and where they are falling short.

Alongside expert insight, the project also reflects qLegal’s focus on practical legal education, giving students the opportunity to engage with real-world issues and contribute to discussions shaping the future of climate law. Four of the six episodes were researched and guest-interviewed by qLegal postgraduate students Alisa Ainonen, Nikola Duper, Julieta Herrera and Manuela Zini.

Clemence Tanzi, qLegal Teaching Fellow and Podcast Project Lead, said:

“Working on Making Climate Law Work has been a genuinely rewarding experience. At a moment when the climate emergency demands clarity, urgency and informed action, these conversations highlight how crucial the law is as a tool for driving meaningful change.”

The series also considers wider questions around loss and damage, corporate climate governance, and the legal risks shaping business behaviour, alongside the political and institutional barriers to effective climate action.

Making Climate Law Work is now available on major podcast platforms, with new episodes released fortnightly. The first two episodes are available from today.