Towards Net Zero Conference: Legal Aspects of Corporate Climate Action in Asia

“Towards Net Zero Conference: Legal Aspects of Corporate Climate Action in Asia”, held at the Westin Singapore on 17 October 2024, was the first conference in Asia to bring together lawyers, judges, directors, investors, regulators and academics to examine legal issues around corporate climate action. The conference was proudly organized by the Asia-Pacific Centre for Environmental Law (APCEL) and the EW Barker Centre for Law & Business (EWBCLB) at NUS Law, with the support of the Commonwealth Climate and Law Initiative (CCLI).

Over 130 legal practitioners, civil servants, professionals from financial institutions and corporates, academics and students participated in this event, which commenced with a keynote speech by Justice Philip Jeyaretnam of the Supreme Court of Singapore, titled “Courts in the Climate Crisis: Accountability and Action”. Justice Jeyaretnam spoke insightfully and knowledgeably about the role that the judiciary can play, analysing landmark cases such as Milieudefensie v Royal Dutch Shell (Netherlands) and the Great Indian Bustard case (India), while also highlighting the need for courts and regulators to combat disinformation and greenwashing.

The remainder of the day-long conference was divided into three panels: Directors’ Duties, Climate Litigation and Investors’ Duties.

Panel 1: Directors’ Duties

Moderator: Umakanth Varottil, Vice-Dean (Graduate Studies) and Professor, Faculty of Law, NUS

Panelists: Shyam Divan, President, LAWASIA. Tina Mavraki, Non-Executive Director, Mytilineos SA and First Bauxite LLC. Michael Tang, Head, Sustainable Development Office, Singapore Exchange Regulation.

Prof Varottil, who was moderating, outlined one of the key themes of the panel of the conference more generally, which was climate change as a systemic and material financial risk. Mr Divan and Mr Tang outlined the regulatory approach in India and Singapore respectively, and how judicial and regulatory approaches are changing in the face of the environmental and climate risks that we are facing. Ms Mavraki argued that climate risk should be governed in the same way as any other risk, highlighting that risk and opportunity are not divorced; rather they are two sides of the same coin. The panelists each have deep expertise of their own jurisdictions, but also spoke insightfully about cross-cutting issues such as greenwashing and the need for investors to have full material information which enables them to take action.

The panel ended with a Q&A which included questions about climate litigation, good governance and “greenhushing”, followed by a break for lunch.

From left to right: Umakanth Varottil, Vice-Dean (Graduate Studies) and Professor, Faculty of Law, NUS, Shyam Divan, President, LAWASIA. Michael Tang, Head, Sustainable Development Office, Singapore Exchange Regulation, Tina Mavraki, Non-Executive Director, Mytilineos SA and First Bauxite LLC.

Panel 2: Climate Litigation

Moderator: Jolene Lin, Director, APCEL and Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, NUS

Panelists: The Rt. Hon. Lord Carnwath of Notting Hill, Former Justice of the UK Supreme Court. Rajiv Lall, Professorial Research Fellow, Sim Kee Boon Institute for Financial Economics, SMU. Joana Setzer, Associate Professorial Research Fellow, Grantham Research Institute, LSE. Peter Barnett, Programme Lead, Quadrature Climate Foundation. Sean Tseng Senior Legal Counsel (Sustainability), SHEIN.

Following the break for lunch, Dr Setzer opened the second panel with a helpful overview of climate litigation trends, highlighting how the majority of cases are brought against governments, and a minority against companies and individuals. Lord Carnwath and Mr Barnett spoke about ClientEarth v. Shell’s Board of Directors (UK) and ClientEarth v. Enea (Poland) respectively. Dr Lall shared that part of his work is trying to understand the drivers that really induce substantive behavioural change at the board level. He argued that more adversarial mechanisms like litigation and regulation may seem effective or even necessary, but can also have unintended consequences. Mr Tseng spoke about climate litigation trends in South East Asia, and also about his own work which includes reviewing company disclosures to ensure that they do not contain anything which could be construed as greenwashing.

The Q&A session touched on the polluter pays principle, carbon offsets, judicial training for judges on environmental issues, and alternative dispute resolution.

From left to right: Jolene Lin, Director, APCEL and Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, NUS, Peter Barnett, Programme Lead, Quadrature Climate Foundation, Rajiv Lall, Professorial Research Fellow, Sim Kee Boon Institute for Financial Economics, SMU, The Rt. Hon. Lord Carnwath of Notting Hill, Former Justice of the UK Supreme Court, Sean Tseng Senior Legal Counsel (Sustainability), SHEIN, Joana Setzer, Associate Professorial Research Fellow, Grantham Research Institute, LSE. 

Panel 3: Investors’ Duties

Moderator: Ernest Lim, Vice-Dean (Faculty Development) and Professor, Faculty of Law, NUS

Panelists: Dilhan Pillay, CEO, Temasek Holdings. Cynthia Williams, Professor, Maurer School of Law, Indiana University Bloomington. YK Park, Asia-Pacific Managing Director, Emerging Markets Equities Fundamental, APG Asset Management Asia. Ghislaine Nadaud, Senior Sustainable Investing Specialist, Robeco.

Prof Lim argued that because climate change poses material financial risks and opportunities to investors, investors are required to address them as part of their fiduciary duty to balance returns against risks for their beneficiaries. He also noted that these climate risks and opportunities can be assessed at three different levels – the whole economy level, the portfolio level and the specific asset or investment level. Prof Williams talked about fiduciary duties stemming from climate risk, and an Australian case where an investor was sued for failing to incorporate climate change into its decision-making process, or for doing so in ways that were allegedly contrary to the interests of the investors. Mr Pillay discussed Temasek’s approach, and the need for a long-term perspective to understand how climate change affects cost of capital and leads to the risk of stranded assets. Ms Park and Ms Nadaud likewise shared their own experiences and reflections based on the investment strategies of APG and Robeco, respectively, highlighting the need for responsible investment and engagement strategies. Ms Park stressed the importance of minority shareholders, and how ordinary citizens can potentially play a role in shaping companies’ strategies and business decisions by buying shares and exercising their rights as shareholders.

From left to right: Ernest Lim, Vice-Dean (Faculty Development) and Professor, Faculty of Law, NUS, Dilhan Pillay, CEO, Temasek Holdings, YK Park, Asia-Pacific Managing Director, Emerging Markets Equities Fundamental, APG Asset Management Asia. Ghislaine Nadaud, Senior Sustainable Investing Specialist, Robeco, Cynthia Williams, Professor, Maurer School of Law, Indiana University Bloomington (Virtual).