Last week a joint Bar Council and Law Society delegation visited the cities of Chongqing and Tianjin to hold seminars with the regional bar associations to promote international best practice in the field of environmental law.

As Adrian Hughes, QC, joint chair of the Bar Council’s China Law Council, commented, “It is vital that, in an ever smaller world, [we] continue to build on the close relationship we have with the legal profession in China to share best practice in the crucial area of environmental law.”

Yet despite the growing prominence of environmental law, its popularity in the UK as a subject for postgraduate study is surprisingly low. The number of dedicated environmental LLM courses can be pretty much counted on one hand.

Colin Reid, professor of environmental law at the University of Dundee, says potential students are put off by fears about the number of jobs available in the field. Yet that must surely be changing, given the increasing importance of the “green economy” and the moves worldwide to introduce regulations to combat climate change.

Not that environmental law is all about global warming. William Howarth, who was appointed to the first advertised professorship in environmental law in the UK in the early 1990s, emphasises that the two programmes he runs at the University of Kent – in international environmental law and environmental law and policy (regulation) – cover the full gamut of environmental issues.

The complex scientific, social and political issues that feed into environmental law mean an interdisciplinary approach is needed. A classic planning controversy (such as the proposed new runway at Heathrow) will throw up a wide range of environmental issues, from loss of wildlife habitats to pollution and environmental quality, all of which have a legal dimension.

Howarth points out that in many respects environmental legislation has not kept pace with environmental or technological change. “The law is often lagging behind society’s concerns,” he says – hinting perhaps that his students will be qualified to help the law to catch up.

Career destinations will vary from law firms that specialise in environmental law (or allied areas such as planning or project work) through to national and international regulatory bodies. And at a time when some of the more traditional areas of corporate law are looking distinctly wobbly, environmental law looks to be guaranteed a promising future.

According to Luis Felipe Andrade, the great strength of the University of Kent’s international environmental law LLM is that it brings together a diverse group of people from a variety of backgrounds to debate issues.

Having qualified as a lawyer in Brazil, Andrade was awarded a British Council scholarship to attend the Kent course. “I wanted to come to the UK to study because it is recognised as one of the leading authorities for policy development in this field,” he says. “Brazil faces many challenges in the field of environmental protection and I wanted to expand my horizons.”

The open discussions are what he particularly relishes about the LLM programme. “It is so stimulating to get the benefit of such a wide range of views.” Halfway through his first term, he is undecided what he will do once he has achieved his LLM. “Joining an international law firm, a nongovernmental organisation or a major corporate with strong environmental interests are all possible.”