The Climate Governance Initiative’s (CGI) newly published second edition primer outlines updated information on climate risk and disclosure legal obligations for organisations’ board members and how they can fulfil them. The CGI’s ‘Primer on Climate Change: Directors’ Duties and Disclosure Obligations’, developed in collaboration with the Commonwealth Climate and Law Initiative (CCLI), evidences how climate change presents financial, material and systemic risks which will affect companies and their investors. The first edition was published in June 2021. One key finding noted in the second edition is a “wide recognition” of an increase in climate change posing a material risk to business and financial stability. Further, a director’s legal duties to protect the interests of the company are not currently viewed as a barrier to climate crisis action, although the primer advises directors to ensure they are complying with regulations and rules requiring the identification and disclosure of climate-related risks. Karina Litvack, CGI’s Governing Board Chair, said: “This primer provides a succinct, easily accessible summary that non-lawyers who serve on boards can readily understand and act on. It will enable directors around the world to act in a fully-informed manner on their legal obligations as they confront this historic challenge.”
