The collector-base junction of a transistor has a small leakage current that increases when the temperature increases. The current gain of a transistor amplifies the resulting base current which turns on the transistor. R16 shunts the collector-base leakage current away from the base. Of course not, the collector-base leakage current causes Q4 to turn on. Leakage current and dielectric absorption in C7 causes the output voltage to rise when the load current is zero or is low. The datasheet for a 2N3055 transistor shows that its maximum collector to emitter leakage current is 0.7mA when it has a Vce of 30V, it is at 25 degrees C and it has no base current with its base not connected.