Mission

Climate change is the defining challenge of our time. As of today, we are not on track to avoid a climate disaster. If we don’t act now, we will see major cities under water, unprecedented heatwaves, widespread water shortages and the extinction of a million species of plants and animals. Pakistan is especially vulnerable to these threats.

We can, however, avoid this scenario. It is within our power and capacity to make the changes necessary to secure our future. The Climate and Environment Initiative (CEI) by the Research Society of International Law (RSIL) hopes to play a role in this transition.

CEI envisions a climate-resilient world that recognises that climate change threats are already unprecedented and potentially existential. We hope to encourage action to address those threats in a manner that is proportionate to their scale and impact. We believe that strengthening the effectiveness of legal solutions will be key to conquering the world’s climate change and environmental problems.

Strategy

Our aim is to increase public awareness of the growing threat of climate and environmental issues, and to contribute to high level discourse on legal solutions to these problems. CEI will pursue its mission through legal research, advocacy and education with a focus on understanding global and local challenges and building effective solutions. We will publish blogs, podcasts and book reviews, as well as longer, more technical publications on issues that we believe require more attention. In the process, we aim to mobilise and maintain lasting partnerships with communities and organisations in Pakistan and worldwide.