Duty to Address Climate Change Litigation Risks for Australian Energy Companies—Policy and Governance Issues

Prafula Pearce
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Prafula Pearce: School of Business and Law, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA 6027, Australia

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 23, 1-13

Abstract: The transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy requires cooperation from all, including corporations, shareholders, and institutional investors. The purpose of this paper is to explore climate change litigation risks for Australian energy companies and investors from a policy and governance perspective. Companies are increasingly reporting their climate policies to satisfy their shareholders and investor demands. In addition, the government and judiciary are making laws and decisions to support the Paris Agreement. This paper explores whether company directors can and, in some cases, should be considering the impact of climate change litigation risks on their business, or else risk breaching their obligation to exercise care and diligence under the Corporation Act 2001 (Cth, Australia). The paper concludes that in addition to reducing climate change litigation risks, Australian energy companies and institutional investment bodies that invest in Australian energy companies can make informed climate risk decisions by aligning their investments with the goal of net-zero or reduced emissions.

Keywords: energy companies; climate change litigation risks; directors duties; policy and governance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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