Oxford Sustainable Finance Summit 2022: Session VIII Climate litigation and liability
Chair: Dr Thom Wetzer, Associate Professor of Law and Finance and Director of the Oxford Sustainable Law Programme, University of Oxford
Sarah Barker, Partner, Head of Climate Risk Governance, MinterEllison
John Firth, Senior Director, Climate & Resilience Hub, Willis Towers Watson
Vesselina Haralampieva, Senior Counsel, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
Catherine Higham, Climate Change Laws of the World Coordinator, Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change & the Environment
Ellie Mulholland, Executive Director, Commonwealth Climate and Law Initiative
Dr Javier Solana, Senior Lecturer, University of Glasgow
Linus Steinmetz, Strategy, International Affairs and Fundraising, Fridays for Future DE
Summary:
Litigation has the potential to help drive the transition to a net zero economy by holding corporations and financial entities to their net zero transition plans, and to re-allocate capital where liability risks are priced into financial decision-making. Yet the risks, opportunities and impacts of climate litigation are not widely understood by financial market participants, regulators and academics alike.
We will explore the role of law and litigation in holding companies and financial institutions to account for a failure to prepare, disclose or implement net zero transition plans.
What role can and should investors and financial institutions play to support litigation to align corporate and financial decision-making with climate goals? How can litigation risk be factored into financial decision-making? What are the implications for efforts by financial institutions, investors, credit rating agencies and prudential regulators looking to use this analysis in financial decision-making and capital regulation?
