Making Sense of the Climate Crisis: Reflections on the Role of Legal Education for Future Lawyering through a Climate Change & Sustainability Law Clinic

This chapter shares the experience and reflections from setting up the Climate Change & Sustainability Law Clinic (CCSLC) at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, as one of the first law clinics fully dedicated to climate justice. It discusses its rationale and vision and reflects on the question of embedding a climate law clinic in the law curriculum, since questions of embedment can raise barriers for the long-term running of a clinic of this kind. This chapter also reflects on the CCSLC’s transition from an experimental initiative to a structured course, sharing elements that promote a deep learning approach about the role of law in the climate crisis, as well as limitations linked to the small scale and cyclical nature of the Clinic. The piece concludes with the recognition of the growing phenomenon of climate law clinics, particularly in the Global South, and the potential for transnational collaborations.