Skip to main content

Climate Change: New Duties and Liabilities in Insolvency?

Climate Change: New Duties and Liabilities in Insolvency?

A project aimed at exploring whether, and in what ways, the emerging challenges of enhancing climate resilience affect the duties and liabilities of key corporate stakeholders.

Project Overview

This project explores the impact of climate change and the necessity of implementing adaptation and mitigation policies on the duties and liabilities of directors, professionals, insolvency practitioners, and judges in insolvency and restructuring procedures. As climate risks grow in urgency, legal frameworks must evolve to ensure that climate-related considerations are integrated into their legal frameworks, including but not limited to insolvency processes. The project provides a comprehensive analysis of existing laws, judicial decisions, and legal trends across several key regions and jurisdictions: Africa (selected countries/regions), Australia, European Union, India, China, South America (selected countries), UK, USA, and Canada. The study primarily focuses on:

  • The evolving responsibilities of directors to address climate risks, particularly in insolvency and restructuring contexts.
  • The role of professionals and insolvency practitioners in managing climate-related financial risks and opportunities during restructurings.
  • The extent to which judges must consider climate change policies in insolvency rulings and decisions.
  • Potential conflicts between the objectives of insolvency and restructuring frameworks and climate policies and how those conflicts should be reconciled and why.

The project officially started on 1 February 2025 and it has an expected duration of 30 month, with a completion date of 31 July 2027.

The primary aim of the project is to provide legal practitioners with clear, actionable insights into how climate change considerations are affecting their duties and liabilities in insolvency procedures. By conducting a thorough analysis of national legal frameworks, case law, and evolving trends, the project:

  • Offers detailed guidelines on how directors, insolvency practitioners, and judges should navigate climate risks in insolvency and restructuring contexts.
  • Produces a comprehensive, comparative analysis of the legal frameworks governing these issues across multiple regions.
  • Delivers policy recommendations to improve the integration of climate risks into insolvency and restructuring laws, subject to reconciling and balancing any conflicts between the objectives of insolvency and restructuring frameworks and climate policies.

The project is led by two Principal Investigators (PIs), Dr Elizabeth Streten (Queensland University of Technology) and Dr. Eugenio Vaccari (Royal Holloway, University of London). It is supported by eight contributors (list below), each focusing on specific jurisdictions and/or regions. An advisory board of eight experienced academics (list below) provides oversight and guidance throughout the project. The funder, INSOL International, receives reports at six-month intervals, ensuring progress is regularly communicated.

The two principal investigators (PIs) in this project are:

In their activity, the PIs are supported by a list of 8 contributors – who will each draft a report addressing the research questions in selected regions and jurisdictions across the globe – and 8 members of the advisory board – who will contribute to the project’s design and implementation.

The contributors by jurisdiction/regions are:

  1. Africa (Ghana, South Africa): Kenneth GHARTEY, Ph.D. Candidate at Royal Holloway, University of London and Lecturer, University of Ghana
  2. Europe (Italy and EU law): Giulia BALLERINI, Assistant Professor at the University of Padua
  3. India: Ishana TRIPATHI, Professor at Jindal Global Law School
  4. People’s Republic of China: Shuai GUO, Assistant Professor at China University of Political Science and Law, and Ying XIA, Assistant Professor at the University of Hong Kong
  5. South America (Brazil and Argentina): Sheila Christina NEDER CEREZETTI, Professor at the Universidade de São Paulo
  6. United Kingdom: Jennifer LL GANT, Senior Lecturer in Law at the University of Derby
  7. United States and Canada: Prof. Laura N COORDES, Professor at Arizona State University

The members of the Advisory Board are as follows:

  1. Africa: André BORAINE, University of Pretoria (SA)
  2. Australia: Sulette LOMBARD, University of South Australia (AUS)
  3. Europe: Reinhard BORK, Hamburg University (GER)
  4. India: Neeti SHIKHA, UWE Bristol (UK/IN)
  5. People’s Republic of China: Jingxia SHI, Renmin University of China (CN)
  6. South America: Rosa M. ROJAS VÉRTIZ, ITAM Mexico (MEX)
  7. United Kingdom: Irit MEVORACK, Warwick University (UK)
  8. United States and Canada: Stephanie BEN-ISHAI, Oosgode Hall Law School (CAN)

This project is generously funded by INSOL International, in collaboration with the INSOL Academic Steering Committee (ASC). The funding supports the principal investigators (PIs) for their time spent designing and managing the project, coordinating the research, contributing to key deliverables, and disseminating the findings. It also provides support for the research undertaken by project contributors.

The expected deliverables for this project are as follows:

  • Jurisdictional/Regional Reports for Practitioners: Each contributor will produce a report that details how climate change considerations affect the duties and liabilities of directors, professionals, insolvency practitioners, and judges in their jurisdiction. These reports will serve as practical guidelines for professionals and will be complied together for an INSOL International publication as detailed in the next point.
  • INSOL International Academic Publication: This publication will compile the reports, offering a comprehensive overview of the project's findings in the introductory chapter. It will be aimed at both practitioners and academics. It will be allocated an ISBN by INSOL International.
  • Academic Comparative Paper: The PIs will co-author a paper summarizing the research findings, identifying gaps in existing legal frameworks, and making policy recommendations including with respect to reconciling any conflicts between insolvency and restructuring frameworks and climate policies. This paper will be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal, such as the International Insolvency Review.

Related topics

Law and Criminology

Explore Royal Holloway