A rise in corporations being sued for climate change inaction in Australia and abroad has affirmed a warning by former royal commissioner Kenneth Hayne that a director's duty to act in the best interests of their company includes acting on climate change risk.

An emerging trend of companies being sued for not acting on climate change follows the path paved by other social issues such as the #MeToo movement and cyber security, according to Sarah Barker, head of climate risk governance at MinterEllison.