Pro Bono Guide to the Climate Crisis

Find out how pro bono lawyers can help tackle the global climate crisis.

Download the Guide (PDF)

“This informative and inspiring publication describes the many ways that lawyers and the legal profession can dedicate their extensive expertise, experience and resources to tackling the climate crisis… Ultimately, climate change is not just about science or technology. It’s about justice. The legal profession has a moral obligation to stand up and join the movement for a cleaner, greener, healthier future.”

Dr. David R. Boyd
United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment

What does the Guide include?

The Guide aims to inform and inspire lawyers across the globe. It includes:

  • descriptions of 15 different ways that lawyers can get involved in pro bono work to help combat the climate crisis
  • a range of compelling case studies from around the world, and
  • advice on how to get started.

Australian civil society organisations tackling climate change

Below are a list of civil society organisations that are working to fight climate change in a variety of ways. Some of them may welcome pro bono support from lawyers. Please contact these organisations directly to ask if you can assist.

This list is not exhaustive and will evolve over time. Please contact us if you think we should add another organisation to the list.

Organisation Website
Action Ready https://www.actionreadyqld.com/
Australian Earth Laws Alliance https://www.earthlaws.org.au/
Beyond Zero Emissions https://bze.org.au/
Citizens Climate Lobby Australia https://au.citizensclimatelobby.org/
Climate Justice Programme https://climatejustice.org.au/
Climate Justice Network https://www.climatejustice.network/
Climate Tasmania https://www.climatetasmania.org/
CounterAct https://counteract.org.au/
Environmental Defenders Office https://www.edo.org.au/
Environmental Justice Australia https://www.envirojustice.org.au/
Friends of the Earth Australia https://www.foe.org.au/climate_justice
GreenLaw https://greenlawnetwork.org/
Lawyers for Climate Justice https://lawyersforclimatejustice.org/
Lawyers for Forests https://www.lawyersforforests.org.au/
Melbourne Activist Legal Support https://melbactivistlegal.org.au/
Nature Conservation Council of NSW https://www.nature.org.au/members/
University of Queensland Pro Bono Centre https://law.uq.edu.au/pro-bono
350.org Australia https://350.org.au/

This list is provided for information purposes only and should not be considered an implied Centre endorsement of any particular organisation on the list.

More information on sourcing pro bono opportunities is here.

Find more of our publications and resources here.