We are pleased to announce the release of Resilient LLP’s legal opinion, Nature-related risks and the duties of directors of Canadian corporations, commissioned and published by the Commonwealth Climate and Law Initiative (CCLI) and co-authored by Lisa DeMarco and DT Vollmer. Read the Executive Summary with the full text of the legal opinion available on the CCLI website here. CCLI’s press release is also available here. The legal opinion provides guidance on the legal obligations of directors of Canadian for-profit corporations in relation to nature-related risks and outlines how such risks fall within directors’ legal duties under Canadian law: Nature-related risks fall within core legal director duties. Under the Canada Business Corporations Act, directors must oversee foreseeable and material nature-related risks under established duties of care and loyalty. This includes physical (e.g. wildfires), transition (e.g. regulation), and systemic (e.g. ecosystem collapse) nature-related risks. Inaction could expose boards to liability. Directors who fail to identify or respond to material nature-related risks could face a wide range of legal action including claims for breach of duty, shareholder or creditor lawsuits, regulatory enforcement for misleading disclosure, greenwashing and consumer protection claims, negligence or nuisance suits, and liability for failing to respect Indigenous rights. Governance expectations are rising. Directors are not expected to be environmental experts, but they must be reasonably informed. Courts will expect boards to demonstrate a reasoned, informed, and well-documented approach to nature-related risks. Overseeing these risks is both a legal and strategic imperative. Effective governance means understanding the corporation’s nature-related dependencies and impacts, engaging relevant stakeholders and Indigenous rightsholders, and integrating nature into boardroom decision-making. Key expert insights: Lisa DeMarco, Senior Partner and CEO, Resilient LLP, and lead author of the legal opinion: “This opinion makes the legal position clear. Directors don’t need to be expert scientists or activists, but…
Resilient is pleased to announce the addition of Jonathan McGillivray as a partner, effective June 11, 2024. “Jonathan is a long-standing member of the Resilient team, and we are thrilled to welcome him as a partner and celebrate this significant milestone with him,” said Lisa DeMarco, Senior Partner and CEO of Resilient. “Jonathan’s addition to the partnership affirms our focus on excellence in client service and our commitment to resilient growth.” Jonathan’s practice extends to all aspects of climate change and clean energy law. He advises on a variety of mandates driven by the transition to a net-zero economy and assists our domestic and global clients on climate strategy, decarbonization initiatives, carbon finance, innovative carbon transactions (including emission reduction and carbon removal purchase agreements and sustainable fuels agreements), biodiversity transactions, and energy regulatory compliance. He also advises proponents, investors, standards, and other organizations on carbon markets investments, governance, and regulatory compliance. “I am excited to be continuing my career at Resilient as a partner,” said Jonathan McGillivray. “I’m looking forward to continuing to contribute to Resilient’s global climate and energy practice and assisting our clients navigate the transition to a net-zero economy. I want to thank my mentors and colleagues for helping me to reach this important career milestone and my family for their endless support.” About Resilient LLP Resilient LLP provides expert legal, policy, and regulatory advice and services to clients across the climate change and energy spectrum. We practice exclusively in the areas of climate change, clean energy, and related Indigenous rights. We have built a leading global climate and energy practice over two and a half decades based on strategic insights and a focus on enduring client relationships. Our mission is to facilitate the success and resilience of our clients in a changing climate. As a world-leading…
Are you attending Carbon Forward North America in Toronto? Join Resilient LLP for an early morning run or walk on June 11, 2024 before the conference begins. Your Toronto Hosts: The Resilient LLP Team What: A fun and easy run (5-7km) or walk (3-4km) along the Toronto waterfront. Rain or shine! Where: Meet at 6:30am at Grange Park – Henry Moore’s Large Two Forms, right behind the AGO. After the run/walk, we’ll gather at Jimmy’s Coffee (166 McCaul St, at Elm). When: June 11, 2024, 6:30am (Conference registration starts at 8:30am, with the welcome address at 9:00am.) Apple Google Outlook RSVP: Let us know to expect you! (There is no obligation to RSVP in advance.) Please contact Lisa DeMarco (lisa@resilientllp.com) or Jonathan McGillivray (jonathan@resilientllp.com) with any questions or comments. We look forward to seeing you on June 11!
Watch Resilient LLP’s Lisa DeMarco discuss important developments and insights on voluntary carbon markets during her interview on SmartMarkets™ as part of IETA’s 2023 North American Climate Summit (NACS) last September at Climate Week New York City. The interview explores the role of carbon markets to support corporate climate action and the need for increased (i) integrity, (ii) excellence and transparency, and (iii) ambition, and highlights the important work of the Integrity Council for Voluntary Carbon Markets and the Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative to support and provide confidence to corporates and others to credibly use emission units, emission reduction units and removals towards emissions reduction targets. SmartMarkets™ has also compiled a selection of its NACS interviews (including Lisa’s interview) into a special episode (available here) covering how carbon markets support corporate strategy for climate action; how the challenges to operationalize the Article 6 markets, as well as the challenges to the reputation and growth of the voluntary carbon markets, affect corporate strategies; and what were the most important ideas being discussed at NACS.
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) recently published its annual emissions gap report: Emission Gap Report 2023: Broken Record (the Report). The Report provides an assessment of the gap between pledged and actual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions and the reductions required to align with the long-term temperature goal of the Paris Agreement and is published annually in the lead-up to the UN Climate Change Conference. COP 28, set to start Thursday in Dubai, will mark the conclusion of the first Global Stocktake under the Paris Agreement, which is very likely to acknowledge that current Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) are insufficient to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement. The UNEP Report highlights the need for immediate implementation of solutions to the emissions problem. Article 6 of the Paris Agreement represents a viable mechanism to channel capital at the levels required in the time available. The Public Policy Forum, together with Resilient LLP and the International Emissions Trading Association, released a report last week titled The Missing Article: How to get Canada back in the game on Article 6. This bulletin briefly summarizes the key findings of the Report. The emissions gap in 2030 remains high. The Report indicates that current unconditional NDCs result in a 14 GtCO2e gap for a 2°C goal and a 22 GtCO2e gap for the 1.5°C goal. Full implementation of unconditional and conditional NDCs would reduce these estimates by 3 GtCO2e. Figure: GHG emissions under different scenarios and the emissions gap in 2030 and 2035 Source: UNEP, Emissions Gap Report 2023, Figure 4.2 Likelihood of limiting warming to 1.5°C remains low. The Report found that there is only a 14% likelihood of limiting warming to 1.5°C and that current policies are likely to see temperature rise by 3°C compared to pre-industrial levels. However, implementing all unconditional and conditional pledges by 2030…




