Hogan Lovells goes wild to tackle climate change

The firm is providing financial and pro bono support to four major organisations across Europe to enable the scaling of rewilding - a systematic, nature based solution to tackle climate change through peatland restoration.

In 2019, Hogan Lovells made a three-year commitment to co-finance the rewilding efforts of the indigenous Snowchange Cooperative in Selkie, eastern Finland, to transform a former peat extraction site into an emerging and thriving ecosystem, preserving traditional nature-based ways of living and serving as an important carbon sink. The learnings from the site in Finland will contribute to the success of other rewilding sites around the world.

In addition to providing financial support in excess of EUR 75,000 and ongoing pro bono legal advice to Snowchange Cooperative, since 2020 Hogan Lovells is also expanding its pro bono commitments to Rewilding Europe, Rewilding Britain, and The Wildlife Trusts (also the firm’s UK charity partner) to support rewilding efforts more broadly. The firm’s rewilding initiative is led by a cross-jurisdiction team of rewilding sponsoring partners - Philip Brown (London), Manon Cordewener (Amsterdam), and Mikael Salmela (Paris).

Representatives from the four organisations will participate in a Rewilding Expert Panel to mark World Earth Day on 22 April, chaired by Susan Bright, Hogan Lovells Global Managing Partner for Diversity & Inclusion and Responsible Business.

Commenting, Susan said: “We are facing catastrophic impacts resulting from climate change and biodiversity loss. Quick technical fixes to these issues do not exist, but we can work with nature’s immense restorative power. Peatlands, present in over 180 countries, have the potential to lock-in 30% of total soil carbon making them one of the world’s most important carbon stores. In contrast, drained peatlands account for over 5% of global emissions. Our wonderful partner organisations systematically monitor and evaluate the restoration effects of their landscape rewilding projects to create functioning ecosystems where biodiversity thrives.

“The global importance of rewilding and peatland restoration as a low-cost, low-tech and high impact solution to assist governments in achieving targets whilst supporting a green recovery should not be underestimated.”

The Rewilding Expert Panel takes place from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. BST/2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. CEST on Thursday 22 April, featuring:

• Tero Mustonen, Ecologist and Co-Founder of the Snowchange Cooperative
• Frans Schepers, Co-Founder and Managing Director, Rewilding Europe
• Rob Stoneman, Director of Landscape Recovery, The Wildlife Trusts
• Rebecca Wrigley, Chief Executive, Rewilding Britain

Click here to register.

Hogan Lovells is committed to playing a leadership role in driving inclusive and sustainable development in which people and planet prosper. The firm contributes to the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals through its own business and through the work of its ESG taskforce in supporting clients to do the same. Working collaboratively within the firm, local communities, and with clients Hogan Lovells uses the law to build a better world for all. Hogan Lovells is a participant of the UN Global Compact and a signatory to Race to Zero and UN Business Ambition for 1.5°C. As part of this commitment the firm is developing science based targets to achieve net zero. 

For more, including a “Rewilding Hogan Lovells” podcast series featuring Tero Mustonen, Co-Founder of the Snowchange Cooperative, and Frans Schepers, Co-Founder and Managing Director, Rewilding Europe, visit: www.hoganlovells.com/rewilding.

Notes to editors:

Rewilding Britain’s (www.rewildingbritain.org.uk) vision is to see rewilding flourishing across Britain, reconnecting us with the natural world, sustaining communities and tackling the species extinction crisis and climate emergency. They run the Rewilding Network which has 25 member projects covering over 220,000 acres.

Rewilding Europe (www.rewildingeurope.com) works to systematically recreate wild landscapes across Europe and are a partner of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, founding member of the Global Rewilding Alliance and manage the European Rewilding Network.

Snowchange Cooperative (www.snowchange.org) is a scientific organisation with a network of local and indigenous cultures around the world, including the Saami, Yukaghir, Inuit, Tahltan, Maori and many other local and indigenous communities. Snowchange works with the Arctic Council, IPCC, Indigenous Peoples Climate Change Assessment and others on biodiversity, climate change and communities. It is dedicated to documenting and preserving traditional ways of life and knowledge of indigenous cultures, paired with the latest scientific and technical knowledge.

The Wildlife Trusts (www.wildlifetrusts.org) want to put nature into recovery in the UK to enable both wildlife and communities to thrive. It is a grassroots organisation made up of 46 local trusts in the UK, the Isle of Man and Alderney, looking after 2,300 nature reserves, covering around 98,500 hectares, with a membership of over 850,000.