Multi-service Benelux law firm AKD actively advises clients on their positive contributions in mitigating climate change and supporting the energy transition. Most notably, in an ongoing matter within the emerging green litigation sector, Patrick Haas in Rotterdam has been retained by non-profit foundation Stichting Car Claim, initiating proceedings before the District Court of Amsterdam on behalf of over 400,000 Dutch car owners impacted by the diesel emission violations and manipulations attributed to manufacturers Volkswagen Group, Renault, Dacia, and Daimler.

Supporting the energy transition platform InnoEnergy in raising and investing capital, the firm has advised on €1.5bn of fundraising and €200m of investments into battery storage, green hydrogen, and renewable energy innovations. The firm has wide experience in advising public and private clients with their investments in renewable energy projects, having assisted provincial development agency OOST NL with all legal and tax services related to their new energy transition, climate adaptation, circular economy, and biodiversity investment fund. 

The firm is also providing contractual, fiscal, and energy regulatory advice to support Verbrugge Terneuzen Terminals’ construction of one of the largest MW rooftop solar projects in the Netherlands, helping expand the renewable electricity capacity in Zeeland province. 

Marjolein Dieperink, Amsterdam-based head of the firm’s energy team, is a professor in Energy Transition and Climate Change at the VU University in Amsterdam and a member of the Energy Reinvented Community, where she recently organised a roundtable on community participation in renewable power projects.

The firm’s internal initiatives complement its client work toward a green transition. It provides pro bono legal services to The Ocean Cleanup, advising on permits, regulations, and contracts within their mission to eliminate the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.