Climate change disrupts the business of power utilities. It does so in a variety of ways linked to both the need to reduce carbon to mitigate climate change and the imperative to adapt to a changing climate. Firstly, power utilities are impacted by the transition to a lower-carbon energy system. As a major contributor to greenhouse […]
Tag: climate action
Tracking Financial Flows in Support of Canada’s Transition to a Low-Carbon, Resilient Economy
Canada is continuing to advance its efforts in addressing climate change while developing a vision for diversifying and growing its economy. The climate-forward budgets being rolled out and funds being allocated to climate mitigation and adaptation efforts across various levels of government re-affirm Canada’s commitment to transition to a low-carbon and resilient economy. Below is a […]
Canadian Securities Regulators Report on Need for Better Climate Disclosure
On April 5, 2018, the Canadian Securities Administrators (the CSA) published CSA Staff Notice 51-354 Report on Climate Change-related Disclosure Project (the Notice). The Notice details the findings of its year-long review of Canadian climate disclosures. It summarizes the current state of climate-related reporting in Canada, discusses perspectives of both reporting companies (issuers) and users (investors, analysts, […]
Drive for Increased Climate-related Financial Disclosures Continues
Companies can no longer hide their climate risk. The Financial Stability Board (FSB) is helping to standardize the approach to reporting on climate-related risks and opportunities, imploring organizations to identify and strategize around climate issues and tell investors how they are making these determinations. A recent lawsuit against an Australian Bank for inadequate disclosure of climate risks, among […]
Building Climate Competency in Corporate Boardrooms
Corporate boards are not adequately equipped to deal with a changing climate, according to recent studies. There is growing interest in companies’ exposure to climate risk and how long-term shareholder value could be affected. As our understanding of climate impacts on business continues to grow, investors are pushing for climate-competent boards to better manage risk […]
Why Climate Action Will Continue, Despite Trump
Risk management, a national strategy and plan, oversight and governance, transparent metrics and targets – Canada now has a proposed legal framework for meeting our global climate commitments; and it looks rather like the recommendations of the Task-Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). Today, Canada’s federal government tabled long-awaited legislation outlining a roadmap for meeting […]
The Paris Agreement is a Universal Call to Action and a Market Signal to Heed
Historic Global Climate Agreement is Reached COP 21 in Paris was historic. On December 12, 2015, after long days of negotiations and hours pouring over draft text, 195 nations who are Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) adopted the Paris Agreement to decarbonize the economy, work collectively to reduce global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and […]
Private Sector: The United Nations is calling…
I’ve been attending UN Climate Summits off and on since I was a member of the Canadian Youth Delegation that went to the Bali negotiations in 2007. At that point in time, I was an articling student and recent grad from law school, fresh from taking deep intellectual dives into the academic literature on international environmental law. Being […]
United Nations Climate Summit, Paris COP 21: Welcoming Pragmatic Action and A Conversation
Delegates are boarding planes, trains and other modes of transportation on their way to Paris to participate in the most anticipated United Nations Climate Summit since Copenhagen in 2009. This year’s conference has a different mood than past conferences. It’s been sobered by terrorist attacks, extreme weather challenges, economic crisis and austerity measures. It’s taking […]
Shareholders Sue U.S. Corporation for Improper Disclosure of Environmental Liabilities
Shareholders and investors are increasingly asking for more information on environmental risks and liabilities. Investors in the United States filed a securities class action lawsuit claiming that a Florida-based corporation misled them by providing inadequate information about the company’s environmental clean-up costs. The lawsuit names Rayonier Advanced Materials Inc. (RYAM), a company specializing in the production of […]