This week marks the start of the 2021 United Nations Climate
Change Conference, also known as COP26, to be held in the city of
Glasgow, Scotland. This week also marks the introduction of South
Africa's Climate Change Bill to parliament, outlining a
coordinated response to the threat of climate change. While these
developments provide focus to climate change law, climate change is
but one of the identified sustainability related risks that our
societies and economies face and is one of many relevant
considerations that falls under the E of ESG.
Financing a sustainable economy
There have also been developments in the broader Environmental,
Social and Governance ("ESG") space. On
the 15th October 2021, South Africa's National
Treasury published an updated version of its draft technical paper
called "Financing a Sustainable Economy". The paper
serves as a foundational step towards identifying ESG gaps in South
Africa's legal and policy framework. Last week marked the
