welcome advantage? "Force majeure" – a legal let-out clause that allows

sales contracts to be suspended or cancelled without penalty under

extreme circumstances – is now urgently up for review. More than a

handful of major coal producers declared force majeure when the floods

hit. With commodity prices skyrocketing, companies have discovered they

can make more by selling coal on the spot market than under pre-existing

arrangements. As a result several are reportedly renegotiating

contractual terms. Lawyers say force majeure is often overlooked. And,

as extreme weather events are arguably becoming predictable, the climate

for these legal clauses is also changing.