Legal pressure continues to mount on Australian company
directors to consider, assess and disclose the potential impact of
climate change on their business. But what is 'climate
risk', why is it an issue for company directors, and how might
it be disclosed?
Globally, litigation relating to corporate climate risk
disclosure is on the rise. In the United States, Peabody Coal has
recently been pursued in the US Courts for not disclosing its
modelling for the impact of climate change on its business. Closer
to home, proceedings were commenced in 2017 against the
Commonwealth Bank (though later withdrawn) in relation to its
climate risk disclosure.
In Australia, shareholders have filed climate risk focused
resolutions with several listed companies. These companies include:
Shell, BHP and Rio Tinto in the resources sector; and CBA and ANZ
in the financial sector. Resolutions requiring better climate
change risk disclosure have been successfully passed by Shell, BP
and
