Climate Change

We combine our decades of experience with a multidisciplinary approach to advise clients on complex issues, transactions and projects as they navigate the climate transition.

Overview

Torys’ groundbreaking Climate Change Practice handles a wide range of business-critical climate-related issues, both domestically and internationally, from emissions trading and carbon finance transactions to carbon disclosure and compliance matters. Our team also advises clients some of the world’s largest companies as they develop energy transition projects, implement carbon management solutions and work towards their climate-related commitments.

We are also at the forefront of policy and legal developments in this expanding field. Our interdisciplinary team is comprised of leading lawyers, who have held senior government positions, published market-leading research and taught innovative courses on climate change law. Our industry leadership, pragmatic approach and teamwork set us and the counsel we give clients apart.

Primary Contact

Tyson Dyck

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Areas of Service

Emissions Trading and Carbon Markets
We help businesses engage with the rapidly growing voluntary and compliance carbon markets—both domestically and globally. We advise clients on the development of carbon trading and finance strategies, on agreements for the purchase and sale of carbon credits in the primary and secondary markets, on the development and marketing of carbon avoidance and removal projects, and on the formation of and investment in climate-focused funds. We have negotiated transactions in every major North American compliance market, and under every major voluntary standard, advising on spot, forward, and other derivative transactions, carbon streaming deals, long-term offtakes and other innovative structures.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Regulation
We have decades of experiences in advising clients on current and proposed GHG emissions regulations. We regularly advise clients on their compliance obligations under carbon pricing regimes, cap-and-trade systems, emissions performance standards, clean fuel standards and renewable portfolio standards across Canada and internationally. And we have advocated on behalf of many clients in the design of these regulations.
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Carbon Management
We advise a wide range of clients on ambitious carbon management projects, including on commercial-scale carbon capture, utilization and storage facilities, long-term CO2 offtake arrangements, CO2 transportation agreements, and innovative CCUS technologies like DAC and BECCS. We have leading expertise on the evolving regulatory landscape in this area, across North America.
Strategic Planning, Risk Analysis and Litigation
Mitigating risks and seizing opportunities in the transition to a low carbon future requires careful, strategic planning. We help many of the country’s largest companies in developing their strategies to achieve Net Zero greenhouse gas emissions and credible interim emissions reduction targets. We also counsel them in mitigating the risk of, and responding to, greenwashing claims and climate change litigation.
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Energy Transition Project Development
Our clients are leaders in the transition to a low carbon energy future. We act on the most significant wind, solar, nuclear, biomass and energy storage projects in the market, offering strategic advice to the world’s largest energy companies on the development of projects that displace GHG-intensive generation. We are also market leaders on negotiating virtual and physical power purchase agreements for the supply of low-carbon electricity and on the purchase and sale of Renewable and Clean Energy Certificates.
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Climate-related Disclosure
We help clients navigate the leading climate-related disclosure frameworks, including both voluntary standards and proposed regulatory requirements. We are regularly called on to help clients prepare and review disclosures aligned with the recommendations of the International Sustainability Standards Board, the GHG Protocol, the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials and the former Task Force on Climate-Related Finance Disclosures. We also advise clients on emerging climate-related disclosure requirements under securities and banking laws.
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They have proven to be far superior in bringing a pragmatic and strategic lens to complex challenges (not limited to legal ones), grounded in deep understanding of the legislative landscape and political climate within which project development occurs today.

— The Legal 500, 2021