Primer on Climate Change: Directors’ Duties and Disclosure Obligations
Jun 28, 2021
This primer provides an overview of contemporary evidence that climate change presents foreseeable, and in many cases material, financial and systemic risks that affect corporations and their investors. It then discusses general climate obligations in the jurisdictions where The Climate Governance Initiative is present though its global network of national Chapters; how company law and directors’ duties in these jurisdictions require directors to incorporate climate change into their strategies, legal oversight, and supervision of the companies entrusted to their care; disclosure obligations; and then advice to directors.
In brief: The issue of climate change has evolved and now has serious implications for the duties of directors and officers as well as the potential for additional disclosure obligations for companies. This primer discusses climate change as a financial and systemic risk; it covers directors’ duties and disclosure obligations regarding climate change and current litigation around climate change, as well as providing recommendations that can help directors prepare their companies for the effects of climate change.
This resource can provide your board with valuable insights:
- This primer features jurisdictional overviews for 21 countries/regions.
- Learn more about current litigation on climate change.
- Gain valuable recommendations for proactive steps that your board can take now to prepare your company for the effects of climate change.
Most relevant audiences: risk oversight committee members, audit committee members, the full board