Paul Curnow is a partner of Baker & McKenzie’s Global Environmental Markets practice and is a leading legal adviser on climate change. He advises on carbon, renewable energy and environmental markets. Paul is a Visiting Fellow in Environmental Markets at the University of New South Wales and Chair of the Australian Working Group, Carbon Markets & Investors Association.

Practice Focus

Paul advises government, multilateral and private sector clients on domestic and international climate change, renewable energy regulation and policy, cross-border project development and financing under the Kyoto Protocol and domestic and regional trading schemes.

Most recently, Paul has been involved in a range of domestic and cross-border carbon transactions spanning the Clean Development Mechanism, Joint Implementation, EU and NSW Emissions Trading Schemes and emerging voluntary markets. He has acted on some of the earliest and largest structured carbon trades.

Representative Legal Matters

• Drafting emission reduction purchase agreements for sale of carbon credits from CDM projects, under the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, the NSW Greenhouse Gas Abatement Scheme and other domestic schemes, as well as drafting more complex ISDA-style master and confirmation agreements, including re-sale agreements. 
• Advising international carbon funds and private sector clients on emissions trading and commercial opportunities under the Kyoto Protocol and domestic climate change regulation. 
• Advising major international institutions and governments on carbon policy and climate change. 
• Advising on the development of environmental initiatives, including around the responsible management of ozone-depleting substances and synthetic greenhouse gases. 
• Developing the CDM and JI Rulebooks as public resources providing information on the carbon industry.

Admission

New South Wales~Australia (1998)

Education

Australian National University  (B.A.) (1990)
Australian National University  (LL.B.) (1990)