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At the just-concluded 18th Annual Bar Leaders Conference of the International Bar Association (IBA) held at Bocconi University, Milan, I spoke on the topic: “In a Changing World, How Can Bar Associations Be Champions of Sustainability?”
In my presentation, I reflected on the urgent reality of the climate crisis and the responsibility we bear as legal professionals to champion sustainability, not just in words, but in practice, policy, and leadership.
I highlighted our progress at the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), including the formation of the NBA Climate Justice Committee, our efforts to mainstream environmental law education, our support for strategic litigation on environmental issues, and our push for stronger ties with key stakeholders like the National Council on Climate Change and the Association of Environmental Lawyers of Nigeria (AELN).
I shared our work to embed sustainability in legal practice, from promoting virtual court proceedings to advocating for digital filings that reduce paper usage and environmental waste. As I noted during the session, “We are not just interpreters of the law, we are architects of a more just and sustainable future.”
The global climate conversation is one that lawyers must not sit out. As I reminded our colleagues, “Justice must not stop at the courtroom door, it must extend to the climate, the communities, and the future we are shaping.”
This engagement further engineers our commitment to building a Bar that does not just respond to the world’s challenges, but leads in finding lasting, people-centered solutions.
Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN
President, Nigerian Bar Association
