In 2018, the UN Secretary General António Guterres noted that “We face a direct existential threat” from climate change as “we career towards the edge of the abyss”. It is a stark warning to all governments.
The first duty of a government is to “protect the people”, their safety and well-being. A government derives its legitimacy and hence its authority from the people, and so has a fiduciary duty: a responsibility to take reasonable care and act in accordance with the interests of all the people of the nation with integrity, fairness and accountability.
Internationally, private-sector company directors are facing legal action and personal liability for having refused to understand, assess and act upon climate risk, or for misrepresenting that risk. Compensation is being sought from carbon polluters for damage incurred from climate impacts. Legal opinion suggests similar action in Australia would be firmly based, and this duty has been recognised in several quarters, including by some public sector financial system regulators.
