It is now clear that climate change presents material – if not unparalleled – economic risks and opportunities. The Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority and others have recently warned of the potential liability exposure of company directors for i) their company’s contribution to anthropogenic climate change, ii) a failure to adequately manage the risks associated with climate change, and iii) inaccurate disclosure or reporting of these factors.

The Commonwealth Climate and Law Initiative (CCLI) is organising a series of high-level international symposia on the legal exposures of company directors for climate change damages. We will be speaking at the first of these symposia, held at Lady Margaret Hall, a college within the University of Oxford, on the 8th June 2016. Each symposium will facilitate a cross-institutional and cross-jurisdictional exchange of legal thought leadership on director liability risks relevant to plaintiff and defence lawyers, regulators, investors, accountants, and insurers.

Register here

Agenda

09:30 – 10:00 Arrival and Registration at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford

10:00 – 10:15 Welcome and Opening Remarks

10:15 – 11:30 Session I: The financial and business implications of climate change

Panelists:

Anthony Hobley, CEO, Carbon Tracker Initiative

Professor Myles Allen, Professor of Geosystem Science, University of Oxford

Alex Bowen, Principal Research Fellow, Grantham Institute, London School of Economics

Chair: Ben Caldecott, Director, Sustainable Finance Programme, Smith School, University of Oxford

11:30 – 12:45 Session II: Duty to adapt – company directors

Chair: Alice Garton, Leader, Company and Financial Project, ClientEarth

Panelists:

David Drake, Barrister, Serle Court

Philippe Joubert, Chair, The Prince of Wales’ Corporate Leaders Group

Jeremy Marshall, Chief Investment Officer, Bentham Europe

12:45 – 13:45 Lunch

Keynote: James Thornton, CEO, ClientEarth

13:45 – 15:00 Session III: Duty to adapt – investors

Chair: Sarah Barker, Special Counsel, Minter Ellison and Trustee Director, ESS Super

Panelists:

Nico Aspinall, Head of UK DC Investment Consulting, Willis Towers Watson

Stephen Hockman QC, Head of Chambers at 6 Pump Court and former Chairman of the Bar of England & Wales

Ralph McClelland, Associate Director, Sackers

15:00 – 15:30 Tea/Coffee

15:30 – 16:45 Session IV: Corporate disclosures and misrepresentation

Chair: Jessica Fries, Executive Chairman, The Prince of Wales’s Accounting for Sustainability

Project

Panelists:

David Cooke, Lawyer, Company and Financial Project, ClientEarth

Natasha Landell-Mills, Head of Stewardship, Sarasin & Partners

Robert Schuwerk, Senior Counsel, Carbon Tracker Initiative

16:45 – 18:00 Session V: Insurance

Chair: Rowan Douglas, Head, Capital Science and Policy Practice, Willis Towers Watson

Panelists:

Lindene Patton, former Head, Global Risk Hazard Product Development, CoreLogic and

Chief Climate Product Officer, Zurich

Eleni Peters, Senior Vice President, Management Liability, Marsh FINPRO

Michael Sheren, Senior Advisor, Bank of England Prudential Regulation Authority

18:00 – 18:15 Closing Remarks

Professor Gordon Clark, Director, Smith School, University of Oxford

18:15 – 19:15 Drinks Reception

19:15 – 21:30 Dinner