Insights from Oxford: climate transition is business-critical

Izabell Zaza and Johanna Lundgren, both experts in environmental law and sustainable business at Lindahl, recently participated in the Oxford Climate Policy Monitor's annual symposium – an international forum where law, policy and business meet to discuss developments in global climate regulation.

This year's discussions pointed clearly in one direction. Despite geopolitical uncertainty, climate policy continues to strengthen globally, but the focus has shifted – from developing new regulatory frameworks to ensuring actual implementation.

"There is today a significantly stronger policy base than there was a few years ago. The major challenge lies in translating the regulatory frameworks into practice," says Izabell Zaza, associate in environmental law and sustainable business.

Several shifts in the transition

For companies, this represents a shift in how climate issues need to be managed. Climate-related risks are no longer isolated sustainability matters, but are being integrated into corporate governance, financing and business strategy.

"Climate has well and truly moved into the boardroom. Failing to manage these risks proactively can in itself become a question of liability," says Johanna Lundgren, partner in environmental law, water and sewage law and sustainable business.

At the same time, the role of law is changing fundamentally:

• Climate litigation is growing rapidly in scope and complexity

• Corporate and financial law are increasingly being used to drive the transition

• Capital flows are to an increasing degree being directed towards electrification and renewable energy

Taken together, these developments mean that law is becoming a strategic enabler, not merely a compliance support function. Those who succeed in combining regulatory compliance with business-driven transition have a clear competitive advantage.

Creating new business opportunities

An important insight from the symposium is that the transition is to a large extent driven by economics. Renewable energy is already competitive in large parts of the world, and investment is following suit. This creates new business opportunities, whilst at the same time requiring the right decisions to be made at the right time.

Renewable energy is, however, not just a climate issue – it is a security issue. The geopolitical situation has accelerated the shift away from fossil fuels: this is the first energy crisis in which there is a real alternative, and renewable energy sources offer a path to energy security that fossil fuels struggle to provide.

Permitting processes and grid connection for renewable energy projects represent a critical bottleneck. Shortening these queues is one of the most effective ways to accelerate the transition – and an area where legal advice makes a direct difference.

Companies that continue their transition work despite political headwinds are building a competitive advantage that more reactive players cannot quickly recover. For you as a business leader or board member, the question of transition is no longer an "if" – it is a matter of how quickly and how strategically it is carried out.

Lindahl has been a member of Climate Policy Monitor since 2024 – a global initiative that analyses and monitors the development of climate policy across more than 30 jurisdictions. Through our involvement, we combine international horizon scanning with concrete legal advice, with a focus on helping clients navigate complex regulatory frameworks whilst capitalising on the business opportunities presented by the transition.