Help

BI’s Article search uses Boolean search capabilities. If you are not familiar with these principles, here are some quick tips.

To search specifically for more than one word, put the search term in quotation marks. For example, “workers compensation”. This will limit your search to that combination of words.

To search for a combination of terms, use quotations and the & symbol. For example, “hurricane” & “loss”.

Login Register Subscribe

UK regulator asked to sanction Carnival over climate disclosures

Reprints
Carnival ship

(Reuters) — Britain's markets regulator has been urged to sanction cruise ship company Carnival and food delivery company Just Eat Takeaway.com for poor disclosures in a complaint seen by Reuters.

Both companies have breached their legal obligations by failing to adequately tell investors the risk climate change poses to their businesses, environmental law charity ClientEarth said.

In a complaint filed Tuesday, ClientEarth said it had asked the FCA to refer both companies for investigation, although the regulator is under no obligation to act.

A previous complaint to the FCA by ClientEarth over the disclosures of insurers Lancashire Holdings, Admiral and Phoenix Group in 2018 was not successful.

While the Financial Conduct Authority has yet to sanction a company over its climate disclosures, the latest ClientEarth complaint is the first since the U.K. finance minister told the FCA in March to “have regard” in its work to the government's pledge to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

The complaint also follows a stinging report from auditing watchdog the Financial Reporting Council in November that found most company accounts were not factoring in climate risk properly and needed to do better.

Under U.K. law, a company has an obligation to disclose material risks to their business that could impact its value, so investors can make an informed judgment on whether to invest.

By not doing so, Carnival and Just Eat have breached several of the disclosure and listings rules set by the FCA to help markets function well, protect customers and enhance financial market integrity, ClientEarth said.

Carnival made no reference to climate change in its annual report and only "vague" statements in its strategic report, with no concrete analysis of the impact of climate change on its business model, ClientEarth said.

Carnival did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

In the case of Just Eat, ClientEarth said the company made no reference to climate change in its 2020 financial reporting and had no strategy to reduce its carbon emissions in line with the Paris Agreement on climate.

A spokesperson for Just Eat said it did not recognize the allegations made by ClientEarth and had disclosed all material information to investors in its annual report.

“Recent global efforts to phase out fossil fuels and single-use plastics, shifts in consumer behavior, and abrupt changes to regulatory and business environments all present very real challenges to their financial and operational health,” ClientEarth lawyer Maria Petzsch said.

“These impacts are material to investors, who expect to be given the full picture.”

 

 

 

Read Next

  • Trip-and-fall suit against Carnival cruise reinstated

    A federal appeals court has overturned a lower court ruling and reinstated a personal injury lawsuit filed by a Carnival Corp. passenger who hurt her leg and knee in a trip-and-fall, ruling there was evidence the company may have known about a dangerous condition on its ship.