The Commonwealth Climate and Law Initiative (CCLI) has conducted a review of the over 1,000 comments to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) submitted by commentators other than individuals, in order to gauge support for the proposed rules and the issues raised by commentators.
You can read a summary of the CCLI's…
The independent intergovernmental biodiversity advisory body called Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) has published its Assessment Report on Diverse Values and Valuation of Nature. Jennifer Ramos, our corporate/finance and biodiversity lawyer, and Zaneta Sedilekova, our biodiversity consultant, summarise points from the report which are relevant for commercial and environmental lawyers in…
The Commonwealth Climate and Law Initiative (CCLI) has worked with the Climate Governance Initiative (CGI) to produce the second edition to the Primer on Climate Change: Directors’ Duties and Disclosure Obligations.
The Primer provides an overview of contemporary evidence that climate change presents foreseeable, and in many cases material, financial and systemic risks that…
The development of the ISSB sustainability standards: What does it mean for directors’ legal duties?
The IFRS Foundation's International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) released two Exposure Drafts of proposed sustainability standards on 31 March 2022. These propose disclosures on climate-related financial risks, both as narrative disclosures and in a company's financial statements. In this white paper, Dr. John Purcell FCPA, formerly CPA Australia’s policy adviser for Environmental, Social and…
Directors of Malaysian companies are legally required to incorporate climate change considerations into their decision-making processes, according to a new legal opinion dated 22 July 2022. A failure to do so may be a breach of a director’s legal duties and could expose them to litigation from shareholders or enforcement action from the regulatory authorities.…
Climate change litigation is increasing, both in terms of the number of cases being brought and the routes which claimants are taking. Claims against governments can affect the policy and operating environment for companies, or result in delays or rejection of regulatory approvals. Litigation against companies is increasing, and claims are now being brought against…
On 13 June 2022, we published a summary which captures high-level findings of a review of the public comments submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in response to its request for comments in respect of potential climate change related disclosures.
The Commonwealth Climate and Law Initiative has partnered with the Climate Governance Initiative to prepare this Briefing Note for Boards on climate change-related litigation. This briefing note expands on the legal risk trends identified and discussed in the Quarterly Update for the CGI network, available here.
Climate change litigation is increasing, both in terms of the…
To complement the legal opinion on Legal Opinion on Directors’ Duties and Disclosure Obligations under Hong Kong Law in the Context of Climate Change Risks and Considerations, the CCLI has produced a white paper on Directors’ Liability and Climate Risk under Hong Kong law.
To accompany our paper on Fiduciary Duties and Climate Change in the United States, the CCLI wrote an article summarising what climate change means for Delaware directors.