Commonwealth Climate and Law Initiative (CCLI)

About Commonwealth Climate and Law Initiative (CCLI)

The CCLI undertakes legal research and stakeholder engagement applying existing company and securities law frameworks in common law jurisdictions to the complex global challenges of climate change and biodiversity. Our objective is to drive a rapid and orderly transition towards a net zero emissions, resilient and regenerative economy that underpins the Paris Agreement goals. The CCLI is a radical collaboration between academia, corporate lawyers, civil society and professional bodies. Founded to focus on four Commonwealth countries: Australia, Canada, South Africa, and the United Kingdom, we are expanding our remit to the United States, and to several Asian jurisdictions, including Hong Kong, India, Singapore and Malaysia. We provide rigorous legal analysis on the potential for directors, officers and trustees to be personally liable for a failure to govern or disclose the financial impacts of climate change. Our aim is not to litigate, but to demonstrate that prevailing company laws and fiduciary duties compel action on climate change. We also provide practical tools on how to integrate climate risks and opportunities into corporate and investment governance, in order to maximise efforts of the private sector in the transition to a sustainable economy. We also undertake cutting edge research to support the integration of litigation and liability-related financial risks of climate and environmental change into mainstream financial decision-making. We convene conferences and stakeholder events to disseminate these messages and build capacity and connections across the corporate, regulator, academic and civil society ecosystem.

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