Climate Litigation Lessons from Ireland

Cornerstone Climate and Mishcon Purpose present the third in our flagship Climate Litigation Lessons from Around the Globe series, which will focus on Ireland. This dynamic and timely series will bring together leading legal experts from multiple jurisdictions to examine key climate litigation cases and the evolving role of courts in addressing climate change.

Environmental law specialist Clíona Kimber SC will be leading the webinar with guests Mema Byrne BL and Emma Synnott BL.

Register here.

Clíona Kimber SC

Clíona Kimber is a Senior Counsel with over 25 years’ experience at the Bar of Ireland, and a recognised leader in environmental and climate law. She regularly appears before the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, High Court and the Court of Justice of the European Union in complex judicial review and administrative proceedings concerning environmental and planning matters. Her expertise spans climate litigation, environmental regulation, and EU environmental law, often at the intersection with equality and public law.

Before coming to the Bar, Clíona was a tenured Lecturer in International Environmental Law and Director of the Centre for Environmental Law and Policy at the University of Aberdeen. She currently chairs Comhshaol, the Climate Bar Association, and in 2023 was appointed by the Bar of Ireland to the Environmental Subcommittee of the Council of the Bars of Europe (CCBE).

Her environmental credentials are further underscored by a Ministerial appointment as Chair of the Statutory Technical Assessment Board (Architects Qualifications) from 2009 to 2013, contributing to professional and environmental standards in the built environment.

Fluent in Irish and German, Clíona is also a sought-after speaker and legal educator, bringing clarity and thought leadership to evolving environmental legal frameworks at both national and EU level.

Mema Byrne BL

Mema Byrne BL is a barrister and CEDR-accredited mediator with a significant focus on environmental and planning law within her broad civil practice. Called to the Bar in 2003, she has built a reputation for her expertise in complex legal matters related to land use, housing policy, and local government regulation.

Mema’s legal advocacy frequently intersects with environmental sustainability, particularly in the context of strategic housing developments and high-density urban planning.

She has contributed thought leadership to the field through published work such as her article “Section 261: Bringing historic quarries within the planning regime” in the Local Government Law Review, and through her speaking engagements at key conferences. These include the 2021 Planning, Environmental and Local Government Bar Association’s Housing Conference, where she addressed pivotal legislation such as the Affordable Housing Act and the Land Development Agency Bill.