Dr. Eugenio Vaccari delivered a virtual keynote speech focused on his research and his work as a consultant for the World Bank.
Early this year, the World Bank established a Working Group of academics, practitioners and experts to discuss how insolvency law and policy can contribute to the green agenda. Dr. Eugenio Vaccari (Senior Lecturer, Royal Holloway, University of London) has been working as a senior-short term consultant for the Insolvency & Debt Resolution Program. The other members of the team are Akvile Gropper, Harry Lawless, and Antonia Menezes.
Dr. Vaccari was kindly invited to deliver a keynote speech to the Roundtable on Insolvency and Climate Change in India organized by the Insolvency Law Academy on 19 April 2024. He was invited by Prof. Sumant Batra, one of the leading insolvency scholars of our generation, and the president of the Insolvency Law Academy.
In his presentation (agenda below), Dr Vaccari discussed the preliminary findings of the Worl Bank’s Working Group on insolvency and climate change. He also suggested some measures that national governments could implement to ensure that national insolvency laws and restructuring procedures promote climate mitigation and adaptation strategies.
The presentation was followed by a lively discussion, that revolved on topics such as the treatment of environmental claims as well as the ability to discharge polluted assets. Rescue finance and ESG-oriented restructuring were also discussed as potential mechanisms to ensure that insolvency rules are used to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from corporate entities.
The roundtable was attended by leading policy figures, including Ms. Anita Shah Akella (Joint Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs) and Mr. Dinkar Venkatasubramanian, (Partner, EY India and President, INSOL India). Dr. Raghav Pandey (Assistant Professor, National Law University) also delivered a presentation, as he is working for the Insolvency Law Academy on a research paper on the topic of the roundtable.
