New Zealand firm Bell Gully has set a future trend with its climate change team, headed by Simon Watt. The well-known firm came to international attention last year, with Watt receiving a Chamber of Commerce Global award as one of only 10 partners worldwide to be acknowledged as a legal expert in this area.

 

This month sees the specialist team working on a world-first deal in the Indonesian province of Aceh, which is touted as the first commercial financed de-forestation avoidance project. The deal is expected to see Australian company Carbon Conservation sourcing buyers of carbon credits from around the world through Wall Street banker Merrill Lynch. Credits will be marketed to investment banking clients, which are to include ‘carbon poor’ companies worldwide.

 

The concept of climate change is a mostly under-explored area of law, particularly in New Zealand. This deal is likely to set a precedent for future legal teams, essentially broking relationships to combat carbon emissions. It is expected that a number of lawyers will follow in Watt’s footsteps, to be labelled as experts in this burgeoning area of law.