Prof. Dario Latella from University of Messina explains the key aspects of the new corporate duty of care in relation to environmental and climate issues. He also explains how our understanding of climate change has evolved from an ethical or environmental issue to one that poses foreseeable financial and systemic risks and opportunities and has remarkably changed its significance for corporate governance and investors, with implications for directors' and officers' duties.
Prof. Hans De Wulf from the University of Gent talks about climate litigation against private companies. He explains there are three types of climate litigation against private firms and gives examples of climate litigation cases against companies. Prof. Hans De Wulf addresses cases against German carmakers, the Shell group and a derivative action launched by the ClientEarth NGO against 12 Shell board members before the high court of London. In the climate litigation against private firms, a coalition can be seen between tort law, human rights law and civil procedure law that can be used to force companies to change their climate policies. He elaborates his views on the use and abuse of tort law with his example of the "Raser".
