A Brief Legal Opinion: Minimum Benchmarks for Reporting of Companies on (Climate) Risks under European Law

An Analysis Of Italian, French And German Law

Authors: Roda Verheyen, Joseph Breham, Clémentine Bacri, Yann Queinnec, Emiliano Pellegrino

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The brief legal opinion analyses the obligations of automobile companies in Germany, France and Italy in regard to the European Community and domestic law for reporting of climate change and oil price risks. Reporting of those risks is of special interest for shareholders and investors alike.

The legal opinion explicitly shows that annual reports of car companies must include information related to environmental matters and on principal risks and uncertainties, like oil price rises and potential climate regulation. Car companies that do not report or adequately manage climate-related risks likewise place their investors at risk. In this paper, German, French and Italian lawyers discuss possible legal consequences of the failure to declare risks, including penal sanctions and other legal measures.