By Abdullahi Lukman
The Public Law Project (PLP) has announced a renewed focus on climate change, positioning public law as a key tool to challenge environmental injustice and protect communities most affected by the climate crisis.
Ahead of its Public Law and the Planet conference on Tuesday 3 March 2026, the legal charity said climate change represents not only an environmental emergency but a failure of public decision-making.
PLP argues that government choices on development, extraction, funding and protection from harm have determined who benefits from economic activity and who bears its risks, with the heaviest burdens falling on those least responsible for the damage.
The organisation has now formally included climate change within its strategy for the first time.
According to PLP, climate breakdown is deepening existing inequalities across housing, health, migration and access to justice, making public law an essential mechanism for holding public bodies to account.
Jamie Peters, PLP’s interim chief executive, said his experience at Friends of the Earth showed how communities can use the law to challenge harmful environmental decisions.
He has worked at both international and local levels, from UN climate negotiations to grassroots campaigns, and has seen communities succeed through judicial reviews and planning inquiries.
Several community-led legal challenges have led to wider legal change, including recent cases against fossil fuel developments.
Among them is the Supreme Court victory by Sarah Finch and the Weald Action Group, which challenged the approval of oil extraction and set an important precedent for future climate cases.
PLP said its work on climate justice will build on its long-standing commitment to supporting marginalised groups.
The organisation highlighted the disproportionate impact of pollution, unwanted infrastructure and climate-related displacement on working-class and racialised communities, warning that climate change will intensify existing social and racial inequalities.
The Public Law and the Planet conference will bring together lawyers, campaigners and community groups to examine how public law can be used to address environmental injustice and support wider movements for social justice.