Jasmin Fraser

Directors’ Duties Navigator: Climate Risk and Sustainability Disclosures (Fourth edition, 2024)

As a systemic risk, climate change has the potential to disrupt the functioning of the entire financial system. This makes climate change a material consideration for boards of directors, who are responsible for ensuring the long-term viability of businesses. The fourth edition of the Directors’ Duties Navigator: Climate Risk and Sustainability Disclosures (the Navigator)*, like earlier editions, seeks…

Nature-Related Impacts, Risks and Disclosures: What Do Investors Expect from Boards?

Investors around the world are increasingly scrutinising corporate directors’ governance and management of nature-related risks. In this Insights, we talk to Rachel Crossley , Head of Stewardship, Europe at BNP Paribas Asset Management (BNPP AM) about BNPP AM’s expectations of boards regarding their management of nature-related impacts and risks, disclosures, and why it is so…

What does the Grantham Institute’s 2024 climate litigation report indicate about director liability?

Over the past six years, the Grantham Research Institute, in partnership with the Sabin Centre for Climate Change Law, has published annual snapshot reports in its Global trends in climate litigation series. Each report provides a synthesis of the latest research and developments in the climate change litigation field, and serves as a valuable resource for understanding the evolving…

What does the new CDP water briefing for directors (the Briefing) mean for financial institutions and directors’ duties?

The CCLI’s Biodiversity and Africa Lawyer, Victoria Puxley, talks to Annabel Nelson, Strategic Advisor to the CDP, about what water risk means for financial institutions and directors’ duties. This follows the release of a CDP water briefing for directors authored by Annabel and linked at the bottom of this Insights. Victoria: What prompted you to write…

Redefining Governance: the CSDDD’s Impact on Directors

Author: Jasmin Fraser and Isabella Seitz Date: 13 August 2024 In a move towards increased corporate accountability, the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) was published in the EU Official Journal on 5 July 2024. Member States are required to adopt and publish the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with the CSDDD…

TNFD WEBINAR: Recording of “Boards and nature – the evolving landscape for director’s duties”

In case you missed the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) webinar on 11 July 2024 titled, “Boards and nature - the evolving landscape for director’s duties”, the recording has now been made available here . The Commonwealth Climate and Law Initiative (CCLI)’s Board Members, Cynthia Williams and Sarah Barker, were panelists on the webinar. …

The Green Mirage: climate lobbying and corporate greenwashing

Author: Jasmin Fraser and Jenni Ramos Date: 18 June 2024 Lobbying is common among businesses. But where does it cross the line from well-founded engagement to greenwashing? In this blog post, we highlight how the ‘say-do’ gap - the gap between what companies say they are doing and what representatives of their business or their…

Private Roundtable: Global Regulatory Enforcement Approaches to Tackle Greenwashing: “Lessons to and from Asia”

Authors: Param Pandya and Jasmin Fraser Date: 28 May 2024 The Commonwealth Climate & Law Initiative (CCLI) and the EW Barker Centre for Law and Business (EWBCLB), National University of Singapore, co-organised the 'Private Roundtable: Global Regulatory Enforcement Approaches to Tackle Greenwashing: Lessons for Asia' (the Private Roundtable) at the National University of Singapore. …

What does the new UK legal opinion on nature-related risks and directors’ duties mean for climate risks and directors duties?

The CCLI’s Executive Director, Cynthia Williams, talks to the CCLI’s climate lawyers, Jasmin Fraser and Sarah Hill-Smith, about the new independent legal opinion on nature-related risks and directors’ duties in England and Wales commissioned by the CCLI and Pollination (the Opinion), and its significance for climate risks. To understand the importance of the Opinion with…

Improving governance on nature-related risks and opportunities

The Commonwealth Climate and Law Initiative (CCLI) has partnered with the Climate Governance Initiative and the World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA), to publish a briefing for board directors on the Climate Governance Hub. This briefing explores how companies are currently integrating nature considerations into their strategies by analysing six of the Nature Benchmark indicators (a 2022 – 2023 study assessing 769 companies),…

Company directors should consider company’s nature-related risks (including climate risks): landmark English law legal opinion

Date: 13 March 2024 Directors should consider their company’s nature-related risks as part of their duties to promote the success of the company and act with reasonable care, skill and diligence, according to an independent legal opinion dated 11 March 2024, commissioned by the CCLI and Pollination. A team of corporate and financial law barristers…

Developments in climate-related litigation, disclosures and due diligence requirements: What board directors need to know

The Commonwealth Climate and Law Initiative (CCLI) has partnered with the Climate Governance Initiative to publish this briefing for board directors on the Climate Governance Hub. A resource for navigating the rapidly-evolving landscape of sustainability-related corporate responsibilities, this: updates previous briefings on climate change litigation, climate-related disclosures and ESG-related risks in value chains and the…

Australian company directors exposed to nature-related risk: new legal opinion

Under the Australian Corporations Act, nature-related risks are within the scope of directors’ duties to act with care and diligence, according to a new legal opinion dated 24 October 2023. Authored by Sebastian Hartford-Davis and Zoe Bush, the opinion ‘Nature-related risks and directors' duties’ concluded that nature-related risks to a company should be regarded as…

Primer on Climate Change: Directors’ Duties and Disclosure Obligations – 3rd edition

The Commonwealth Climate and Law Initiative (CCLI) is delighted to have worked with the Climate Governance Initiative (CGI) to produce the third edition to the Primer on Climate Change: Directors’ Duties and Disclosure Obligations. This new edition delves deep into the material, financial, and systemic risks posed by climate change, offering valuable insights into the implications…

For directors to decide? Permission initially denied in the ClientEarth v Shell case

Author: Alex Cooper Date: 15 May 2023 On Friday 12 May 2023, the High Court refused permission for the UK environmental NGO to continue its derivative action against the board of Shell plc, according to reporting by ESG Today. This is an initial order by the court, and developments in the case will not stop…

TNFD beta v0.4 in a nutshell for corporates and directors

Author: Zili Duniya Bungwon Date: 17 April 2023 On 28th March the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) released the fourth and final prototype of its framework, which will be followed by its final recommendations in September 2023. The first three beta versions of the TNFD’s framework were released in 2022, followed by market pilot…

Biodiversity as a material financial risk: What board directors need to know

In the context of recent global developments, boards need to understand all of the indirect, but very real, implications of biodiversity loss for their business. This update draws out key points of the Commonwealth Climate and Law Initiative (CCLI) report: Biodiversity Risk: Legal Implications for Companies and their Directors to outline why biodiversity loss should…

CCLI submits response to Transition Plan Taskforce consultation

The Transition Plan Taskforce (TPT) recently concluded a consultation on its Disclosure Framework and Implementation Guidance, which aims to develop a 'gold standard' for the disclosure of transition plans. The Commonwealth Climate and Law Initiative (CCLI) responds to consultations in areas within our legal expertise on an ad hoc basis. We comment on how…