Social Impact Heroes Helping Our Planet: Why & How Laura Clarke OBE Of ClientEarth Is Helping To Change Our World
An Interview With Martita Mestey
I have one and it is fundamental, namely that you don’t have to do everything at once! And it’s often the best thing to make haste slowly…
As part of my series about “individuals and organizations making an important social impact”,I had the pleasure of interviewing Laura Clarke.
Laura Clarke joined ClientEarth as CEO in 2022 from her role as British High Commissioner to New Zealand. ClientEarth uses the power of the law to bring about systemic change that protects the Earth for — and with — its inhabitants.
Laura has spent 20 years in Government, and diplomatic roles across Africa, Asia and Europe. During that time, she has worked extensively on climate, environmental and sustainability issues.
Her title is: Laura Clarke OBE, CEO ClientEarth
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit. Can you tell us a bit about how you grew up?
I had a wonderfully old-fashioned English country upbringing, in a home full of animals, and with our grandparents a short walk away across a valley. I went to school in the local village, roamed the countryside with our dog, and spent a lot of time sitting in a big beech tree, watching the world go by.
You are currently leading a social impact organization that is making a difference for our planet. Can you tell us a bit about what you and your organization are trying to change in our world today?
ClientEarth is an environmental law charity with a unique approach. We use the law to protect all life on Earth.
Our planet is changing and it’s already impacting the lives of millions of people around the world. Rising carbon emissions are accelerating climate change. Our forests are disappearing. The air we breathe and the oceans we depend on are being polluted. Vulnerable plants and animals are under threat. To meet these global challenges, ClientEarth informs, implements, and enforces laws that protect our environment, so that people and the planet can thrive together.
We work with governments and policymakers to improve laws and make them stronger. We work with governments who want to do the right thing and help them craft solutions to get there faster. We help companies who want to find the changes they need and work out how to stop harmful conduct. And we use the courts to enforce the law.
We are working to defend everyone’s right to a healthy environment, we protect nature and biodiversity, stop pollution and fossil fuels, call out greenwashing, hold industries accountable, and advocate for climate justice.
Once something becomes law, it becomes enforceable. Shortly afterward, it becomes common sense. That is why we litigate. Because today, we need the law to face our greatest challenge — the environmental crisis — which is too big to be addressed only from the bottom up. To deliver meaningful and lasting change at the rate at which it is needed, there needs to be industry transformation and system-wide change. We work constructively with policymakers and companies who wish to embrace this change but are not afraid to use the law if they refuse to do so. We believe that one well-placed, hard-won legal victory can change the system. Enough of them can change the future.
In 2022 have been heavily focused on protecting people — those who are most affected by the impacts of climate change; and leveraging shareholder powers to hold Boards and Directors to account for irresponsible, climate-hostile corporate behavior. We have also had major progress on holding Governments to account for not meeting their obligations to people and the planet.
In the last six months, our legal wins include:
- In 2022 we made legal history by defending and winning the Torres Strait Islander complain. This was the first time a country was found responsible for climate change impacts under human rights law. The Torres Strait Islands lie off the northern tip of Queensland, between Australia and Papua New Guinea and for tens of thousands of years have been home to the claimants’ ancestors. But the effects of climate change means tides are rising every year, flooding homes, lands and important cultural sites, as well as destroying the natural sea and land environments on which they depend. The finding that Australia must provide the Torres Strait Islanders adequate compensation and ensure the continued safe existence of their communities sets a precedent for cases against other high-emitting states for climate-related ‘loss and damage’.
- We launched another first-of-its-kind case against Shell´s Board of Directors aiming to hold them accountable for failing to adequately address the energy transition. Boards of Directors have a duty to act in a way that does not erode long-term company value. We believe Shell´s Board has failed to address the company´s vulnerability to climate risk, which is why we have started shareholder litigation.
- We delivered a historic High-Court win against the UK Government to for their inadequate net-zero strategy. ClientEarth argued that the Government had failed to show that its policies will reduce emissions sufficiently to meet its legally binding climate commitments. We also argued that the net zero strategy failed to include enough information about the policies to allow Parliament and the public to properly scrutinise its plans. The High Court ruled that the Government’s net zero strategy breaches the Climate Change Act and needs to be strengthened. The Government have decided to not appeal and must develop a new strategy next year.
Can you tell us the backstory about what inspired you to originally feel passionate about this cause?
I spent two decades in government and diplomatic roles across Europe, Africa, Asia and the Pacific, working extensively on climate and sustainability issues. But it was during my time as British High Commissioner to New Zealand and Governor of the Pitcairn Islands, that I realised I wanted to devote my professional life and energy to the environment. I saw Pacific Island communities live with the existential threat of climate change and sea level rises; I saw the impact of plastic pollution on the remote Pitcairn Islands — as well as the benefits of a Marine Protected Area; and I worked on the UK’s COP26 Presidency with New Zealand Māori — and realised that I wanted to do all I could to ensure that we can live in balance with our natural environment, and protect it for our children and our children’s children.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company or organization?
I attended COP in my second month as CEO — and came away with conflicting emotions. On one hand I was struck by the overwhelming sense that time is running out but I was also hugely enthused by the energy and drive of NGOs, youth activists, indigenous peoples, Small Island Developing States and others who are pushing for the urgent action we need. The task at hand is enormous. We need wide-ranging systemic change if we are to manage the sheer scale of what we have to do; of the climate finance we need to raise; and the vested interests (from fossil fuel majors, some corporates, some states) pushing to maintain the status quo, or at least delaying the transition. All this reinforces even further the importance of the law as a lever for change.
None of us can be successful without some help along the way. Did you have mentors or cheerleaders who helped you to succeed? Can you tell us a story about their influence?
Yes — too many to mention! But let me just mention two: a more senior woman, who achieved everything she needed to while always being kind. That was quite counter-cultural at the time, when work and hierarchy could be quite punishing. And a mentor who focused on having the confidence to fail: he said that good leadership was not about getting everything right: it was about knowing how to respond when you got things wrong.
Are there three things the community, society, or politicians can do to help you address the root of the problem you are trying to solve?
Ultimately we need systemic change to tackle climate change and protect the environment — this cannot be addressed by individual decisions alone. That said, if every citizen and consumer:
- Wrote to their local MP or Mayor asking them to prioritise action on climate change.
- Always voted for the most environmentally progressive political party.
- Choose their bank, insurance company and other services on the basis of their climate and environmental credentials; and
- Held their own company to account for their performance against climate and environmental commitments.
Then that would make a huge difference in driving that systemic change.
How would you articulate how a business can become more profitable by being more sustainable and more environmentally conscious? Can you share a story or example?
The transition to a net zero economy is already well underway and businesses that don’t recognise that will be left behind. For those who act now they will be exploit the opportunities of green technology, but also attract the right investment flows. Investors increasingly recognise that being part of the transition makes good business sense– that was demonstrated perhaps most clearly in a case that we brought as shareholders against Enea, a Polish energy company, that was planning to invest in a new coal plant. We argued that it was a bad long-term investment and would soon become a stranded asset, the court agreed and the investment didn’t go ahead, and the very same day Enea’s share price jumped by 4%: showing that the market agreed with us.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why? Please share a story or example for each.
I have one and it is fundamental, namely that you don’t have to do everything at once! And it’s often the best thing to make haste slowly…
If you could tell other young people one thing about why they should consider making a positive impact on our environment or society, like you, what would you tell them?
We need to think in intergenerational terms: what will our children’s children think of the state in which we have left the planet? How can we be good ancestors?
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“If you hear a voice within you saying ‘you cannot paint’, then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced” (Vincent Van Gogh), and “it always seems impossible until it’s done”. Sometimes the task seems too big, too daunting: but the only way we have a hope of succeeding is to roll up our sleeves and get stuck in.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂
The people I’m inspired by right now, and would love to get to know, are Vanessa Nakate, Mia Mottley and David Attenborough… I think that would be a pretty amazing conversation.
How can our readers follow you online?
Follow ClientEarth on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn as well as signing up to our newsletter to keep up to date is a great way to support the work we do. I also am very active on Twitter and LinkedIn: @LauraClarkeCE.
This was very meaningful, thank you so much. We wish you only continued success on your great work!
Social Impact Heroes Helping Our Planet: Why & How Laura Clarke OBE Of ClientEarth Is Helping To… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.