The Conveyancing Information Executive (CIE) has thrown its weight behind new Law Society guidance, which provides information on how solicitors can negotiate climate risks and manage their businesses during the transition towards net zero.
The CIE said it welcomed the clarity provided by the Law Society on this issue, particularly in regard to the conveyancer’s duties to their client, and how they should consider the advice and information given in relation to climate change risks on property transactions.
It says this guidance is “essential reading” for managing partners and compliance officers to ensure that wider ESG risks are considered across the business, with real estate teams being a key focus due to the value of the assets being transacted.
The CIE highlighted specific areas in the guidance which it says will be of relevance to members. This includes the Law Societies observation that under a solicitor’s duty of care for a client they “may have to look beyond the narrow scope of an instruction by a client, to consider whether and to what extent climate legal risks are relevant”.
The guidance also adds: “A solicitor has a duty to warn a client about potential risks by pointing out hazards of a kind which should be obvious to the solicitor but that the client may not appreciate.”
The CIE says that one of the key ways to identify these risks is through the use of climate analysis in search reports. In anticipation of this the CIE has already published its Climate Risk Reporting Compliance note, confirming minimum standards that members must adhere to when producing reports to support conveyancers and property purchasers.
The CIE said that there will be sector-specific guidance to follow from the Law Society which its hopes will clarify further the use of search reports in more detail as a core element in how firms can mitigate their risk and enhance their client advice on climate risks.
The Law Society guidance also looks to split climate change risks into three distinct categories: physical risks, transitional risks and liability risks.
But it adds that lawyers should not stray out of their competence when dealing with green issues. “A solicitor who does not have the relevant knowledge of the impact of climate change on the legal area they are advising on should not advise if it is outside their knowledge or competence.”
This comes against the backdrop of the 2008 Climate Change Act which commits the UK to make substantial reduction to greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, with a target of being net zero by 2050.
