Pim Heemskerk

Banks’ climate liability: what to learn from states and oil majors

Banks are no real-economy actors, but they do face a very real risk of climate liability: indirectly, because of the litigation impending on clients with greenhouse gas-intensive activities and products; directly, because banks may fail their own legal duty to actively reduce their (financed) emissions. This latter risk is particularly relevant to many banks considering their mostly inadequate transition plans. Pim Heemskerk and Roger Cox analyse how the concept of climate liability may apply to banks. Their firm Paulussen Advocaten NV acts for Friends of the Earth Netherlands et al. in the landmark case against Shell plc and has acted in similar landmark climate cases against states.