Menu Close

Benjamin J. Richardson

Professor of Environmental Law, University of Tasmania

Professor Richardson is a Professor of Environmental Law at the University of Tasmania Faculty of Law. After completing his studies at Macquarie University and the Australian National University, he worked abroad for over 18 years in law faculties in Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, including at the University of British Columbia where he held the Canada Research Chair in Environmental Law and Sustainability. Prior to working in academia, Professor Richardson had stints in policy and consultancy roles for the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service in Sydney and the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) in Kathmandu and Nairobi. He is active in variety of community and professional groups, including the Tasmanian Independent Science Council and the Extinction Rebellion movement.

Professor Richardson’s scholarship is diverse, including climate change law, socially responsible investment, corporate social responsibility, and Aboriginal legal issues. Global recognition of Professor Richardson’s work includes earning the Research Excellence Prize of the UN Principles for Responsible Investment Academic Network (in 2010) and the Senior Scholar Prize of the IUCN Academy of Environmental Law (jointly, in 2012).

His publications include a variety of books, such as: The Art of Environmental Law (Bloomsbury, 2019), Time and Environmental Law (Cambridge University Press, 2017), Company Law and Sustainability (Cambridge University Press, 2015, with Beate Sjafjell), Local Climate Change Law (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2012), Indigenous Peoples and the Law (Hart Publishing, 2009, with K. McNeil and S. Imai), Socially Responsible Investment Law (Oxford University Press, 2008), and Environmental Law for Sustainability (Hart Publishing, 2006, with S. Wood).

Experience

  • 2014–present
    Professor of Environmental Law, University of Tasmania, Faculty of Law and Institute for Marine & Antarctic Studies
  • 2011–2014
    Canada Research Chair in Environmental Law & Sustainability, University of British Columbia, Faculty of Law
  • 2003–2010
    Professor, York University, Osgoode Hall Law School
  • 1999–2002
    Senior Lecturer, University of Manchester, School of Law
  • 1996–1999
    Lecturer / Senior Lecturer, University of Auckland, Faculty of Law

Education

  • 1996 
    Australian National University, PhD
  • 1991 
    Macquarie University, LLB BA(Hons)