Webinar Series Report
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Human Rights Due Diligence for Climate Change Impacts Webinar Series Report Edited by Lise Smit and Ivano Alogna 7 Editors: Lise Smit, Senior Research Fellow in Business and Human Rights and Director, Human Rights Due Diligence Forum, BIICL Ivano Alogna, Arthur Watts Research Fellow in Environmental and Climate Change Law, BIICL Date: January 2021 This report contains the respective presentations made by speakers as part of the British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL) ‘Webinar Series: Human Rights Due Diligence for Climate Change Impacts’, (September - October 2020). The views of speakers are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of BIICL or the editors. Please cite accordingly, for example: [Name of speaker], ‘[Title of presentation]’, in Lise Smit and Ivano Alogna (Eds) Human Rights Due Diligence for Climate Change Impacts: Webinar Series Report, (January 2021), available at: https://www.biicl.org/categories/business-and-human-rights Table of Contents Executive Summary .......................................................................................................... 5 Foreword: What does human rights due diligence for climate change impacts look like? ...... 6 Episode 1: Corporate Due Diligence for Climate Change Impacts: The Status Quo .............. 9 1. Keynote Speech .................................................................................................................. 9 David R. Boyd 2. A holistic perspective to human rights due diligence for climate change impacts ............. 12 Shona Hawkes 3. EU and French perspectives on due diligence for climate change impacts ......................... 15 Clotilde Henriot 4. Investment Arbitration and Human Rights Due Diligence for Climate Change Impacts ...... 18 Stuart Bruce 5. Human Rights Due Diligence for Climate Change Impacts: the Status Quo in Energy and Finance ................................................................................................................................... 21 Caroline Sloan 6. The Climate Principles for Enterprises as a Global Framework to Come to Grips with Climate Change ...................................................................................................................... 24 Jaap Spier Episode 2: The (Intended) Impact of Climate Change Litigation on Corporate Due Diligence ..... 27 1. Overview of Some Trends in Global Climate Litigation Jolene Lin ......................................................................................................................... 27 2. Human Rights-Based Climate Change Litigation Annalisa Savaresi ............................................................................................................. 30 3. Human Rights Due Diligence for Climate Change Impacts: Focus on Africa Olanrewaju Fagbohun....................................................................................................... 33 4. Observations from Climate Change Litigation Stijn Franken .................................................................................................................... 37 5. Experience from the Corporate Advisory Perspective Holly Stebbing .................................................................................................................. 40 6. Observations from the Area of Tort Law Sudhanshu Swaroop QC ................................................................................................... 43 7. Overview from Climate Rights-Holders Perspective Ingrid Gubbay .................................................................................................................. 46 Smit & Alogna, Human Rights Due Diligence for Climate Change Impacts – Webinar Series Report 3 Episode 3: Mandatory Human Rights Due Diligence Laws: What Are Their Implications Regarding Corporate Climate Change Impacts? .............................................................. 48 1. Climate Change, Human Rights and the UN Guiding Principles: Interlinkages and Red Flags Surya Deva ....................................................................................................................... 48 2. Climate Due Diligence as an Inherent Component of Human Rights Due Diligence Chiara Macchi .................................................................................................................. 51 3. The Mobilisation of Human Rights Standards to Prevent Climate Change: Overview from the French Perspective Kathia Martin-Chenut ....................................................................................................... 53 4. The Existence and the Extent of a Climate Standard of Care in France Paul Mougeolle ................................................................................................................. 56 5. Overview of Legislative Developments in Germany Lena Walker ..................................................................................................................... 59 6. Observations from German Legal Practice Roda Verheyen ................................................................................................................. 61 7. Shedding Light on Climate Change Due Diligence Laws: Consideration from Other International Frameworks, Arenas and Contexts Merryl Lawry-White 8. Observations on the need for transformative change Sara Seck Episode 4: Meeting the Standard: What Does Adequate Human Rights Due Diligence for Climate Change Look Like in Practice? ............................................................................ 69 1. Human Rights Due Diligence for Climate Change Impacts in the African Context.............. 69 Manson Gwanyanya 2. Insights on Corporate Due Diligence for Climate Change from Existing Normative Corporate Accountability Frameworks .................................................................................... 72 Joseph Wilde-Ramsing 3. Trend Analysis and Practical Suggestions for Business to Prepare for HRDD Legislation .... 75 Colleen Theron 4. The experience of the Principles for Responsible Investment and human rights due diligence for climate change impacts ...................................................................................... 79 Nabylah Abo Dehman 5. The Insurance Industry and Climate Change ..................................................................... 83 Jason Reeves & Deepa Sutherland 6. A Practical Perspective on Connecting Human Rights Due Diligence and the Climate Crisis ...... 87 Catie Shavin Smit & Alogna, Human Rights Due Diligence for Climate Change Impacts – Webinar Series Report 4 Executive Summary The British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL) held the webinar series ‘Human Rights Due Diligence for Climate Change Impacts’ from 10th September to 1st October 2020, as part of the newly established BIICL Human Rights Due Diligence Forum. Developments around mandatory human rights due diligence laws are multiplying across Europe, and increasingly include climate change impacts within their scope. As a result, companies, regulators, judges, legal advisors, civil society and the public are asking what the legal implications of these due diligence laws will be for companies relating to their climate change impacts. In this webinar series, the discussion turned on the nature of due diligence as a legal standard of care, how this can be applied in relation to climate change, and what the practical implications for companies are likely to be. This report provides an overview of the discussions and is divided into four parts according to the episodes’ topics. It contains the written versions of each speaker’s presentation, in the order that they took place. The editors wish to thank the speakers for their participation and for making this webinar series a resounding success, and the first of its kind to explore this topic in detail. Special thanks to the BIICL Events Team, particularly Leigham Strachan, Bradley Dawson, Carmel Brown and Bart Kolerski for ensuring the smooth running of the series. Thank you also to Dr Irene Pietropaoli and Dr Claire Bright for their input. Smit & Alogna, Human Rights Due Diligence for Climate Change Impacts – Webinar Series Report 5 Foreword: What does human rights due diligence for climate change impacts look like? Lise Smit and Ivano Alogna This topic came to our attention as requiring further consideration when we were leading a study for the European Commission on regulatory options for mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence.1 The study showed that although there now seems to be consensus that climate change is a human rights issue2 – even being called ‘the greatest ever threat to human rights’3 by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet – companies’ human rights due diligence and their climate due diligence seem to be developing ‘in silos’.4 Moreover, it is not clear exactly how a legal duty to exercise due diligence for climate impacts could and should be framed, and how it would apply in law and in practice. The above study has led to the announcement by the European Commission of a legislative initiative, to take place in 2021.5 Various other regulatory developments have similarly underscored the need to consider how due diligence-related regulation would apply to business’ climate change impacts.6 We are at a crucial time now where we are being asked to think about the design and implementation of these mandatory due diligence laws. This webinar series was aimed at kick-starting further