The University of Oxford has launched a new Climate Policy Monitor project that will assess the climate policies of 30 jurisdictions worldwide and aim to address the gap that often exists between setting and implementing climate targets. The project replies on pro bono work from 48 law firms and legal professionals around the world—one of whom is Torys counsel Claire Seaborn.
Serving on the expert advisory board, Claire spoke with Forward Law Review about her work on the project.
“Torys LLP is known as a leading Canadian law firm on environmental and climate change legal matters. I joined the firm in April 2024, having spent the past five years in senior roles at the Government of Canada, often developing and implementing climate change-related policies and regulations,” she said.
“Thomas Hale reached out directly to me, likely due to a combination of our firm’s expertise on climate change legal matters, and my personal expertise in climate change-related policies and regulations, to ask if my colleagues and I would be interested in assisting with this initiative.”
As part of the project, Claire and the Torys team completed a survey developed by the University of Oxford and conducted an extensive review of Canadian climate change related law, policies and regulations. Claire says being a part of the project will provide a valuable opportunity for Canadian climate change related laws and policies to be better represented on a global stage.
“It was important to me that those in Canada and internationally had the correct information regarding the initiatives that are in place in Canada, as some may act as useful case studies and precedents for other jurisdictions looking to adopt similar laws, regulations and policies,” she said.
Claire was also a co-author on Torys’ 2024 climate disclosure report, which surveyed the climate disclosure practice of 220 of Canada’s largest public companies. Read the full report here.
Press Contact
Richard Coombs | Senior Manager, Marketing
416.865.3815