The role of law in climate action (its capacity to effect meaningful change; whether it transforms or retrofits in response to climate change; institutional legitimacy etc) is my central research interest. My current work focusses on carbon dioxide removals (CDR), with excursuses into greenwash regulation and climate constitutionalism. 

In the past I have addressed climate law from the perspective of international regulatory regimes (on the Paris Agreement here and here), regions (e.g. Asia, and EU), institutions (UK Supreme Court, Export Credit Agencies, UNFCCC), technologies (CCS), and legal approaches/practices (Just Transitions, theory, and definitions).

I have been at Edinburgh Law School since 2003. Previously a barrister in London and Lecturer at King's College London, I undertook my graduate work at the University of Cambridge, the European University Institute (Florence) and the University of California, Berkeley (Fulbright Scholar). 

Current and past community roles include: Director of Alumni Relations; Head of Public Law Subject Area; Convenor, Equality Diversity and Inclusion committee, Society of Legal Scholars (and Executive Committee member); Board Member and Chair of Climate Strategies.

Current research projects:
1. CO₂RE, The Greenhouse Gas Removal Hub, funded by UKRI, Legal WP leader
2. C-SINK, funded by Horizon Europe and UKRI, Legal WP leader
3. SEAO2-CDR, funded by Horizon Europe and UKRI, Expert Advisory Board

Recent Projects:
1. Oil and Gas Transitions - project across UK/Denmark/Norway to develop just transitions to ending O&G extraction. £0.5m funding from various philanthropies (end 1/09/23). Principal Investigator. 
2. Export Credit Agencies - focussing on legal tools to decarbonise ECAs, esp regarding their high carbon investments in Asia. £50k, funded by UK Global Challenges Research Fund. Principal Investigator. 
3. EU-Japanese networking - developing network between EU and Japanese public and environmental lawyers. £50k, funded by UK Economic and Social Research Council. Principal Investigator. 
3. Constitutional Clauses - project to develop climate/net zero constitutional clauses, esp in the global south. Funding University of Edinburgh/philanthropies. See here. Principal Investigator. 

I have been funded by a wide range of research funders (public, private, philanthropic, domestic, and international), including: European Commission/Horizon Europe; Economic and Social Research Council; Natural Environment Research Council, the British Academy, Daiwa Foundation, UK Energy Research Council, Laudes Foundation, and the KR Foundation.

In 2025/6 I am teaching:

• Regulating Carbon Dioxide Removals and CCS, the new LLM course, and
• Public Law and Individual Rights, a core undergraduate course redesigned to reflect the latest administrative law jurisprudence on climate change. 

The spine of my teaching is informed by my research - 'research-led-teaching' as it is called - and the Global Environment and Climate Change graduate LLM programme, which I have long directed (but no longer!). As such I integrate  cutting edge legal thinking with climate research in cognate disciplines including finance and geosciences. My approach is interdisciplinary and I routinely work in conjunction with non-lawyers and/or practitioners, as reflected in my various funded research projects. I also teach on the Business School's Climate Change Risk in Finance

I am accepting PhD applicants in my fields of research. 

Current Researcher: 
Sabrina Mason, Environmental Tax Policy in the UK: A Means to be Green? (2021, part-time)

Successfully Completed
Pedro Cisterna Gaete, Equitable adaptation of the law to climate change: the case of informal settlements (2024)
Peter Reid, Dualminster: constitutional change and continuity in Sri Lanka and Guyana (2024)
Chris Jones, The Legal Personality of Political Parties (2024)
Dr Dagmar Medeiros, Assessing the standard of legitimacy in the United Nations climate change regime through a compensatory constitutionalism lens (2020)
Dr Yawen Zheng, Towards China’s Development Goals: An Evaluation of the Role Played by China’s Foreign Investment Legal Regime (2020)
Dr Justin Macinante, Effective and flexible emissions trading markets: international emission trading by networking carbon markets on distributed ledger technology architecture – regulatory and institutional frameworks (2019)
Dr Pascal Gotthardt, Quest for truth: unilateral measures within the climate change-trade nexus (2018)
Dr Majid Rizvi, JAG Griffith's Normative Positivism (2015)
Dr Nazli Ismail Nawang, Political Blogs and Freedom of Expression (2015)
Dr David Rossati, International law and the governance of climate finance: navigating global institutional complexity (2015)
Dr Asanga Welikala, Beyond the Liberal Paradigm: National Pluralism and Constitutionalism in Sri Lanka (2015)
Dr TJ Macintyre, Internet Filtering - Implications of the 'Cleanfeed' System (2014)
Dr Handa Abidin, REDD-plus and the protection of indigenous peoples under international law (2014)
Dr Wanli Wang, The Role of the Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region under China's 'One Country, Two Systems' Principle (2010)

I am a long time member of the leading global research network, Climate Strategies, and chaired its Board from 2020-2023. Climate Strategies has over 100 members (by invitation only) and offices in London and The Hague.

I have also led activist campaigns on climate issues, bringing together influential groupings of concerned academics and scientists. See Open Letter From Climate Scientists.

A significant part of my work consists of engaging with practitioners in the climate world: legal professionals, public bodies, and civil society actors. These engagements include advisory roles, board memberships, and sharing research with stakeholders via presentations or publications. For example, I write the climate law content for LexisNexis and my work has been widely cited and reviewed in the quality press, and parliamentary reports. I advise philanthropic foundations, regulatory agencies, committees, international organisations and industry.