From ‘Corporate Governance’ to Ecological Regulation: Flipping the Regulatory Story on Climate Change

Abstract

This brief paper is concerned with the challenge of ‘ecological’ regulation – that is the challenge of ‘taming capitalism’ to ensure businesses operate within, and contribute to, flourishing eco social systems, rather than extracting from and exploiting them. We Earthlings face the existential challenge of abrupt global environmental change and ecological disruption. At the same time social and economic injustice and inequality persist and widen. Widespread support for initiatives like the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals show that many in business recognise the need for governance to encourage both ecological resilience and social justice. Yet current modes of regulation and governance are inadequate due to their focus on piecemeal solutions to individual environmental and social externalities, and/or their dependence on market-based governance mechanisms that fail to ensure corporate capitalism operates within ecological limits and social justice parameters. I will argue that the dominant ‘corporate governance’ approach to climate change generally legitimates and sustains a ‘consumptogenic’ system that drives further social and ecological destruction. I will argue that ‘ecological’ regulation and compliance is required to flip the story and embed economic activity within regenerated social and ecological systems.

Keywords: climate change law, public law, rule of law, legal professional ethics, legal profession

JEL Classification: K32