In the news

Renewable Energy Global Paper | Insights | DLA Piper

In a world where the corporate green agenda is increasingly integral to business strategy, particularly following the Paris climate change agreement, this paper explores the growing trend of large corporates using power purchase agreements (PPAs) to purchase renewable energy. 

Truth about Australia's coal industry and climate policy | The Saturday Paper

If Malcolm Turnbull or freshly appointed Environment and Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg stood on Queensland’s coast and saw a coal-fired power station float past, they’d notice, right? If more than half a million new cars drove past, they’d surely raise an eyebrow. Or would they? Each day, more than a million tonnes of Australian coal sails up that coast, past the Great Barrier Reef, to power stations or steel mills elsewhere, quietly fuelling climate change and bleaching the reef. Once used, the coal exported daily generates about as much carbon pollution as a 500-megawatt coal-fired power station, or 570,000 cars, in a year. 

Small increase in energy investment could cut premature deaths from air pollution in half by 2040 | IEA

Each year an estimated 6.5 million deaths are linked to air pollution with the number set to increase significantly in coming decades unless the energy sector takes greater action to curb emissions. Air pollution is a problem felt around the world, particularly the poorest in society.

The Importance of Looking Forward to Manage Risks | Zenghelis and Stern

Companies that fail to plan for business scenarios in a low-carbon economy risk decline or even bankruptcy, according to a submission to the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures published today (PDF) (6 June 2016) by the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment and the ESRC Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy at London School of Economics and Political Science.

AEMO hints at role of battery storage as big solar, wind farms added to grid | Renew Economy

A new report by the Australian Energy Market Operator has hinted at some of the major changes facing the nation’s electricity networks – including the need to install grid-scale battery storage to alleviate grid congestion – as they evolve to incorporate more and more large-scale solar and wind generation.

ASX Corporate Governance Council | KPMG

Disclosures against the nine new recommendations in the 3rd edition of the ASX Corporate Governance Council’s Corporate Governance Principles and Recommendations have been examined in a new KPMG report. While there was a high level of adoption and acceptance of the new recommendations, ranging from disclosure of a board skills matrix to directors’ induction programs to the company secretary reporting line, the report shows that disclosures on board skills and sustainability risks have considerable room for improvement. 

Download the full report here.

To read the full Governance Institute introduction and analysis, please click here . 

A new COP on the Beat | Minter Ellison

Sarah Barker (Special Counsel, Melbourne) and Maged Girgis (Partner, Sydney) examine international developments that are raising the bar on corporate governance, and disclosure of, risks and opportunities associated with climate change.

Background – economic and regulatory evolution

You may have noticed a subtle change in the emphasis of your morning coffee read. The financial press has begun to devote serious column space to the issue of 'climate change'. So why this mainstream interest on what was, historically, an issue consigned to the 'environmental fringe'? In short, leading market stakeholders have begun to recognise that issues associated with climate change present significant economic and financial risks (and opportunities) over both long- and shorterterm investment horizons, which cannot be ignored. 

Download the report