On Thursday 29 January 2026, from 1800-2000 JST, the International Bar Association (IBA) Bar Issues Commission (BIC) will provide expert commentary and thought leadership at a seminar organised by the Japan Federation of Bar Associations (JFBA) on the role of lawyers in the decarbonisation era.
The seminar, titled ' The Cutting Edge of Legal Practice Addressing Climate Change - Rethinking the Role of Lawyers in the Decarbonization Era, Learning from Global Best Practices ' will be held via Zoom and conducted in English and Japanese.
Click here to register to gain insights from global legal experts on climate change, ESG law, and the expanding professional responsibilities of lawyers in a rapidly changing legal, regulatory and corporate landscape. The Zoom link will be issued after registration.
The IBA's role in this seminar
The IBA's participation will bring global context, comparative insights and cutting-edge thinking on climate competent lawyering. Former IBA president, Akira Kawamura, will deliver opening remarks, Steven Richman, Chair of the IBA Bar Issues Commission , will give a keynote address and Emily Morison, Project Lawyer with the IBA Legal Policy & Research Unit (LPRU), who focuses on supporting integration of climate, nature and human rights considerations into legal practice, is among the panellists.
Context
Amid the global move toward decarbonisation, companies are expected not only to reduce their own greenhouse gas emissions but also to advance climate responses across their supply chains. In Europe and North America, legal frameworks are rapidly evolving and include climate-related disclosure rules, anti-greenwashing regulations, directors' duties regarding climate risk, emissions trading schemes and carbon border adjustment mechanisms. Climate litigation is also proliferating worldwide. In July 2025 the International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion addressing states' legal duties and responsibilities concerning the climate crisis.
The seminar will draw on leading international examples to examine the emerging risks and opportunities facing Japanese companies and to explore the roles that lawyers and corporate legal departments should play. Experts from Europe, Japan and beyond, will delve into the front lines of sustainability law practice in the decarbonisation era, from practical perspectives.
The full line-up
- Master of Ceremonies
- Yasuko Teraura, Attorney-at-Law, Dai-Ichi Tokyo Bar Association
Keynote addresses
- Lawyers and bar associations understanding climate risks and advancing climate competent lawyering
Steven Richman, Chair, IBA BIC
- Navigating the net zero transition: risk management and value creation for law firms
Georgina Beasley, CEO, Net Zero Lawyers Alliance (NZLA)
- The role of Japanese lawyers in climate action
Juta Wada, Attorney-at-Law, Osaka Bar Association
- How Japanese business lawyers are addressing climate-related challenges
Sakon Kuramoto, Attorney-at-Law, Tokyo Bar Association
Panel discussion
- Moderator: Changho Kim, Attorney-at-Law, Daini Tokyo Bar Association
- Panellists: Emily Morison; Georgina Beasley; Juta Wada; and Sakon Kuramoto.
Why IBA participation matters
The IBA - the global voice of the legal profession with an extensive international membership - has been actively shaping how lawyers, bar associations and law societies understand and respond to climate change, nature and ESG risks. The IBA's work includes:
- convening global roundtables on bar association climate initiatives, bringing together legal leaders to share best practices and address complex climate law challenges, and developing tools to support bar association climate initiatives and legal education through the IBA Climate Registry and Bar Issues Commission Climate Change Working Group ;
- hosting climate law events alongside UNFCCC ( United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ) conferences with LPRU coordination, which highlight the role of lawyers and law firms in the net zero transition;
- developing a new IBA Nature-Intelligent Legal Services Toolkit , to equip lawyers and law firms to integrate biodiversity and nature-related risks and opportunities into legal services; and
- supporting ESG-focused legal education and training programmes, such as the IBA ESG Accelerator Training Programme , which drew global participation and equipped lawyers with sustainability knowledge.
This seminar builds on those global efforts to integrate climate and sustainability considerations into legal practice.
