Legal challenges of imposing a governmental duty of care for adaptive responses to climate change in the Global South: a case study of Nigeria

Our research study focuses on exploring the challenges of adopting Governmental Duty of Care as a legal framework for adaptive responses to Climate Change with special focus on the Global South using Nigeria as a case study. Although a global issue, minimising the impact of Climate Change requires domestic or national adaptive measures which requires a different approach from mitigation, hence a National Project Development and Implementation Framework in conjunction with International Environmental Agreements is desired. In comparison to the Global North, it seems that the Global South is lacking the political will to carry out their international environmental obligations. As citizens are no longer content with government inertia, holding these government accountable through the imposition a duty of care through litigation or as a consequence of ratifying international environmental agreements is a legal framework this research proposes. However, this approach is fraught with legal complexities, some of which this paper will highlight

Investigation of institutional investors’ responsible investment practices in UK

The focus of Corporate Governance is shifting from the role of directors to active ownership. Based on their fiduciary duty to other shareholders, it is believed that institutional investors have an important role to play in this regard. However, the Pension Funds and the Sovereign Wealth Organisations are not driven by the same set of objectives. In addition, Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) issues in investment decision-making are now becoming more important and they are capable of becoming the mainstream in the future. However, there are widespread variations in perception of fiduciary responsibilities, ESG issues appraisal, as well as the strategies adopted by institutional investors on shareholder engagement as responsible investors. Responsible Investment market is largely driven by institutional investors and they are expected to continue to lead the way. This research work investigates the role of the main asset owners and their advisors in responsible investment practices in the UK. It adopts a qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews, questionnaire and meetings observations. Gathered data is analysed using grounded theory and the findings highlight the perception of the various investor groups to corporate governance. The research work contributes to the body of knowledge by assessing the corporate governance perspectives of the various classes of institutional investors which may have practical implications for other countries