Keeping up with changing environmental policies and regulations across the globe can be daunting. In-house counsel's challenge of advising business based on those changes is what led Houston-based Lex Mundi, along with its international partners, to create the Lex Mundi Global Climate Change Law Guide.

The free guide, made available on Tuesday, allows in-house counsel to look up environmental regulations, greenhouse gas emission trading schemes, energy efficiency measures, renewable energy sources, financial institutional measures and prominent litigation worldwide. It also allows users to create a custom side-by-side report comparing different jurisdictions to help guide business decisions.

"Most jurisdictions do have some long-term measures in places to reduce emissions," Lauren Smith, international business development manager at Lex Mundi, said. "That's why we developed this for in-house counsel. So they can be aware and do some risk mitigation analysis with outside counsel before committing to business decisions."

Marloes Brans, a partner and head of climate change at Lex Mundi member firm Houthoff in Amsterdam, said in-house counsel have shown an increased interest in climate change issues in the past year.

"I think it being in the media accelerates it to the top of the agenda for general counsel," Brans said in an interview with Corporate Counsel.

She explained that, in conjunction with Lex Mundi, Houthoff hosted a commission on governance last year and the main discussion point, along with carbon dioxide reduction and soil contamination, was how to implement environmentally friendly measures that put companies in compliance with the various regulations worldwide, showing the need for a guide like this.

"What we're noticing is that there is a lot surrounding climate change," Brans said. "They [general counsel] hear that a lot is going in the litigation and regulatory aspects. I think the guide is a very good tool to provide some sense of what's going on."

Because of litigation on environmental issues, the regulations are fluid and continuously changing and the stakes to that kind of litigation are getting higher. In December, for example, the Supreme Court of the Netherlands in The State of the Netherlands v. Stichting Urgenda ordered the government to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 25% from 1990 levels by the end of 2020, Brans explained. It is the first of its kind where a government has been ordered to reduce emissions.

"That is a groundbreaking case and is an example of a strict outcome from litigation," Brans said.

As regulations continue to expand and more suits are filed regarding climate change, the guide will be updated. Smith said Lex Mundi will be adding regulations and significant litigation from different jurisdictions as time goes on.