What we do

Opportunity Green brings together a team of lawyers, economists, scientists, and diplomacy experts who all share one goal: making real climate action happen.

We seek to tackle sectors which traditionally fly under the radar of climate action in three ways:

1. We work with climate vulnerable countries to amplify their voice in global decision-making.
2. We use strategic legal actions to drive climate action and hold big polluters accountable.
3. We connect innovative companies with policymakers to push forward climate credible solutions.

This strategic approach – working from multiple angles to create systemic impact in overlooked sectors – sets us apart from other NGOs and is where we deliver exceptional impact.

Our impact

1. How we support climate vulnerable countries

We champion climate solutions that are fair for everyone. This involves supporting climate vulnerable countries and traditionally marginalised peoples to have a stronger voice in global decision-making. We also advocate for big polluting companies to take responsibility for climate change, ensuring that international commitments are designed in a way that’s fair and equitable.

We support climate ambitious, just, and equitable policymaking at multilateral negotiations governing global industries, including the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). We provide independent, tailored legal and policy research and technical support to Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs), to increase their participation and influence at the negotiations. We are exploring extending this impactful work into other global fora.   

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2. How we use strategic legal actions to drive climate action and hold big polluters to account

Innovative legal approaches are at the heart of what we do at Opportunity Green – whether that’s through targeting government policy and corporate accountability and greenwashing, highlighting the binding legal obligations on governments to act, and dispelling legal myths that are blocking climate action.

Our legal challenges include:

• Taking the EU Commission to court for labelling polluting ships and planes as ‘green investments’ in the EU Taxonomy.
• Holding MSC Cruises to account for its misleading advertising of fossil LNG.
• Filing Europe’s first climate-related legal challenge in the steel sector against steel giant ArcelorMittal.

But our legal work isn’t all about climate litigation. We also make submissions on complex legal issues to international courts, states and United Nations’ Special Rapporteurs. For example, our submissions to the International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea and the International Court of Justice advisory opinions were unique in focusing on States’ legal obligations to decarbonise international aviation and shipping.

And because not all impactful legal action involves formal complaints or proceedings, we also use expert legal analysis to tackle perceived legal blockers to climate action and the transition. For example, our work highlights the ability for governments to tax kerosene in the aviation sector, and the ability for European governments to use existing regulation to tackle climate change by reducing airport take off and landing slots allocated to airlines.

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3. How we connect innovative companies with policymakers

Collaboration is key to what we do. That’s why we established the SASHA Coalition, to bring together the most ambitious businesses in shipping and aviation to build powerful partnerships and push for action together.

The SASHA Coalition’s members are at the cutting edge of commercialising renewable hydrogen and adjacent solutions in their sectors. We facilitate the Coalition to develop ambitious, high-impact strategies that shift the mindset of decision makers and influence policy decisions. SASHA demonstrates to policymakers the need for ambitious, progressive regulation if Europe and the UK are to guarantee their long-term competitiveness.

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