Working pro bono to tackle the climate crisis

One of the most impactful ways a lawyer can use their skills and experience to combat the climate crisis is through pro bono work. The Centre has developed and collated the following resources to help lawyers feel equipped to address one of the foremost challenges of our time:

  1. The Global Pro Bono Climate Action Portal– an online portal developed in collaboration with global NGO PILnet, which features a wide range of case studies from around the world that illustrate the variety of ways lawyers are using their expertise pro bono to tackle the climate crisis.
  1. The Pro Bono Guide to the Climate Crisis– a practical resource that describes 15 different ways that lawyers can dedicate their expertise, experience and resources to tackling the climate crisis.
  1. A list of Australian civil society organisations currently tackling climate change.
  1. A compilation of other helpful resources.

Global Pro Bono Climate Action Portal


The Centre has developed a Global Pro Bono Climate Action Portal in collaboration with global NGO PILnet. The Portal features a wide range of case studies from around the world that illustrate the variety of ways lawyers are using their expertise pro bono to tackle the climate crisis. We’re hoping it will inspire and inform the global legal profession.

View the Portal here.

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.

Translation into Persian

This Guide has been translated into Persian, with thanks to Seyed Masoud Noori, Founder and Executive Director of the Roya Institute for Global Justice. You can download the Persian version of the guide here.

List of Australian civil society organisations

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
Action4Justice https://action4justice.org
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.

Other helpful resources

Climate Change Litigation Guide

Action4Justice has produced a practical, step-by-step guide to assist communities, civil society organisations and lawyers to assess the viability of, and take legal action to, combat climate change. In addition, Action4Justice has created the following complementary materials intended to assist potential climate litigants:

  • Templates to assist those who wish to start legal action;
  • Topic Sheets to provide solutions to specific legal problems that recur in climate litigation (e.g. justiciability); and
  • Climate Litigation Matrix, which is a consolidated table that shows a summary of the key legal issues and elements of various types of climate-related legal action.

You can find more of the Centre’s publications and resources here.