Our Publications
Audit Committees and Effective Climate Governance, A Guide for Boards of Directors
Authored by Dr. Janis Sarra, Professor of Law at the University of British Columbia, with contributing authors Meghan Harris-Ngae, Ernst & Young, Roopa Davé, KPMG, and Ravipal Bains, McMillan LLP, this guide draws together current legal standards and best practice guidance for Canadian audit committees, to assist them in taking a leadership role in effective […]
Read more‘Troubling Incrementalism’: Is the Canadian Pension Plan Fund Doing Enough to Advance the Transition to a Low-carbon Economy?”
A new legal analysis released by the Canada Climate Law Initiative “’Troubling Incrementalism’: Is the Canadian Pension Plan Fund Doing Enough to Advance the Transition to a Low-carbon Economy?” finds that the CPP’s approach to managing the financial risks of climate change may not be consistent with the best interests of Canadian beneficiaries and contributors. […]
Read moreThe emergence of foreseeable biodiversity-related liability risks for financial institutions: A gathering storm?
Recent economic literature identifies liability as a key category of foreseeable financial risk associated with biodiversity loss. However, it has not, to date, provided further guidance on the nature and extent of litigation and legal risks that should be considered in determining the potential materiality of relevant risks for a given financial actor or system. […]
Read morePutting Climate Change Risk on the Board Room Table
In her opinion, titled “Putting Climate Change Risk on the Boardroom Table,” Ms. Hansell clarifies the role of the corporate board with respect to climate change and how it is unequivocal about the responsibility of corporate directors to include climate change risks and opportunities in their oversight and strategic direction of the companies they serve. […]
Read moreDirectors’ Liability and Climate Risk: Canada – Country Paper
The paper is a more accessible form of reporting the research in the first two papers. It is one of country studies from four jurisdictions, complemented by conferences in Australia (August 2016), Canada (October 2017), South Africa (January 2018) and the UK (June 2016). The national legal papers follow a uniform structure to facilitate comparison […]
Read moreFiduciary Obligations in Business and Investment: Implications of Climate Change
In Obligations in Business and Investment: Implications of Climate Change, legal analysis by Dr Janis Sarra, Presidential Distinguished Professor and Professor of Law University of British Columbia, shows that directors, officers and pension fund trustees must identify and address climate-related financial risk or they may be personally liable for breach of their fiduciary obligation or duty of […]
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