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ClientEarth v Enea

Country/Territory
Poland
Date
Sep 1, 2018
Source
UNEP, InforMEA
Court name
Regional Court in Poznań
Reference number
Not Available
Abstract
ClientEarth, a non-profit environmental law organization and shareholder in the Polish utility Enea SA, has sued that company, seeking the annulment of a resolution consenting to construction of the €1.2bn 1GW Ostrołęka C coal-fired power plant. The claim is brought under the Polish Commercial Companies Code. The plaintiffs report that the lawsuit claims the consent resolution for construction of the power plant harms the economic interests of the company as a result of climate-related financial risks, including: rising carbon prices, increased competition from cheaper renewables, and the impact of EU energy reforms on state subsidies for coal power under the capacity market. On September 19, 2018, in advance of filing the pleadings, plaintiffs’ lawyers wrote to Enea stating that ClientEarth regarded “the proposed resolution, and the Management Board’s proposal of that resolution, as clearly and obviously harmful to the interests of Enea and its shareholders” and warned that Enea’s ongoing actions in relation to the plant “risk breaching board members’ fiduciary duties of due diligence and to act in the best interests of the company and its shareholders.” The claim was filed on October 24, 2018 in the Regional Court in Poznań (Sąd Okręgowy w Poznaniu). On August 1, 2019, the court found the company resolution authorizing construction of the power plant to be legally invalid. Further discussion of the reasoning will be added to this profile upon review of a translation of the full decision.

Key environmental legal questions:

Whether the a Polish utility’s resolution granting consent to build a coal-fired power plant breaches board members’ fiduciary duties of due diligence and to act in the best interests of the company and its shareholders given climate-related financial risks
Full text
ClientEarth-Legal-Briefing.pdf
CE-v-ENEA-ruling-2019.pdf
Investor-relations-_-Enea.pdf
Website
climatecasechart.com