Document Type
Journal Article
Publication Title
Energies
Volume
14
Issue
23
Publisher
MDPI
School
School of Business and Law
RAS ID
40351
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.
DOI
10.3390/en14237838
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Included in
Business Administration, Management, and Operations Commons, Business Law, Public Responsibility, and Ethics Commons, Environmental Sciences Commons
Comments
Pearce, P. (2021). Duty to address climate change litigation risks for australian energy companies—policy and governance issues. Energies, 14(23), article 7838.
https://doi.org/10.3390/en14237838