The political, corporate, business and regulatory responses to climate change are quickly evolving in regional, national and international forums, and demand facile, integrated responses across legal disciplines.   

K&L Gates launched its Climate Change and Sustainability practice in 2006 to bring our clients the multidisciplinary approach necessary to understand and address the complex challenges and emerging opportunities presented by global climate change and sustainable development.  Our clients take advantage of our core strengths in corporate transactions, environmental compliance, natural resource management, corporate governance, public policy, energy project development and finance, intellectual property and litigation.

Our Team
We have more than 50 lawyers committed to assisting clients in the range of issues, including:

• anticipating how climate change and climate change regulation may affect their business
• identifying risks and opportunities
• shaping public policy
• obtaining financing and government grants and subsidies
• permitting clean technology and carbon sequestration projects for traditional and innovative energy companies
• establishing, documenting and marketing carbon credits and renewable energy credits
• satisfying compliance obligations arising under environmental, public utility, securities and corporate governance laws and regulations

These lawyers have significant experience representing the spectrum of entities touched by this issue, including those involved in energy production and consumption, industrial manufacturing, clean technology, natural resource, and lending and investing.

Our Climate Change and Sustainability practice is global and reaches clients in the United States, Europe and Asia. Among our members we are proud to have the former Legal Officer of the United Nations Environment Programme; former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Justice and state environmental officials; leaders in trade and legal associations tracking climate change issues worldwide; and a former Staff Attorney for the Center for International Environmental Law in Geneva, Switzerland.  Our lawyers also regularly publish articles and speak at conferences on climate change issues.

Responsiveness and teamwork are qualities in which we take pride, as well as maintaining a thorough grounding in both the legal and business dimensions of our clients' industries. We make it a point to know how your business interacts within your industry, enabling our team to provide valuable, flexible and strategic advice that takes account of both your business goals and current and possible future legal requirements.

How We Help Clients
Below are just some of the ways we assist private sector, public sector and NGO clients:

• Licensing, joint venture and M&A transactions
• Project financing and development
• Green tags, carbon credits and credit trading
• International transactions
• Government contracts, grants and subsidies
• Corporate governance and SEC compliance and disclosure
• Due diligence 
• "Green" leasing, LEED compliance and related real estate matters
• Municipal finance/IDBs
• Risk analysis for financial institutions and investors
• Tax analysis
• Transmission infrastructure projects
• Greenhouse gas reduction and mitigation plans 
• Facility siting and permitting
• Carbon offset and sequestration plans
• Federal and state regulatory proceedings
• Lobbying and government affairs
• Monitoring and analysis
• Construction contracting litigation
• Patents for clean technologies
• Insurance coverage issues
• Regulatory rulemaking and related litigation