The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released its long-awaited climate disclosure mandate for publicly traded companies (Final Rule). While significant portions of the proposed rule have been scaled back or outright...more
California Governor Gavin Newsom publicly confirmed that he will sign two unprecedent climate disclosure mandate bills into law. The mandates will apply to thousands of private entities that conduct any business in...more
California Governor Gavin Newsom will now decide whether businesses with any operational connection to California—physically present in the state or not—either privately held or publicly traded, and with $500 million in...more
Two unprecedented climate disclosure mandate bills cleared a formidable and critical legislative hurdle on the path to becoming law in California. And while much attention to date focused on a mandate to disclose...more
9/6/2023
/ California ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
State and Local Government ,
State Legislatures
Two proposed California laws that would mandate disclosure of climate-warming emissions and organizational “risk” related to climate change moved closer to Governor Newsom’s desk. The tandem mandates largely mirror a proposed...more
The California Senate passed two bills that would require climate-related disclosures from specified companies doing business in California. SB 253 (Weiner) and SB 261 (Stern) will now move to the state Assembly for...more
Two bills that would require climate-related disclosures from specified companies doing business in California advanced in the Legislature this week. SB 253 (Wiener) and SB 261 (Stern) passed the Senate Judiciary Committee...more
4/20/2023
/ Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Proposed Rules ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation
Two proposed climate-related disclosure mandate laws moved closer to becoming law in California. Collectively, the two proposed laws largely mirror a federal rule proposed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The...more
Mandatory disclosure of greenhouse gas emissions by business operators is coming, one way or another. California legislators continue to press for a change in law that would require disclosures for large businesses that do...more
The California Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) criticized the California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) recent and most sweeping revision of its Scoping Plan (Plan) to achieve legislatively mandated greenhouse gas (GHG)...more
Calling for foundational reforms in every sector of California’s economy, now the fourth largest in the world, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) on December 15, 2022, adopted the latest and most sweeping version of...more
The Supreme Court severely limited the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) asserted authority to regulate greenhouse gases from existing emission sources such as coal-fired power plants. While devastating to EPA's...more
7/1/2022
/ Air Pollution ,
Clean Air Act ,
Clean Power Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Fossil Fuel ,
Global Warming ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Pollution Control ,
Power Plants ,
Regulatory Authority ,
SCOTUS ,
West Virginia v EPA
A California bill requiring large U.S. companies doing business in California to publicly report all of their worldwide greenhouse gas (GhG) emissions moved one step closer to Governor Newsom's desk. If the bill becomes law,...more
6/24/2022
/ Air Pollution ,
California ,
CARB ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Pending Legislation ,
Pollution Control ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Reporting Requirements
“[C]limate-related risks have present financial consequences that investors in public companies consider in making investment and voting decisions.”
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has proposed a sweeping new...more
4/12/2022
/ Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Proposed Rules ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation
With the 2020 election now called, though yet to be conceded, questions abound as to what the environmental regulatory landscape may look like under a Biden/Harris administration. For California, we don’t expect much of a...more
11/19/2020
/ Biden Administration ,
CEQ ,
Clean Air Act ,
Clean Power Plan ,
Clean Water Act ,
Clean Water Rule ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Navigable Waters Protection Rule ,
NEPA ,
Policy Drafting ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform
Whether in CEQA or Efforts to Halt Climate Change, Will the State Wrest Control of Land Use Decisions Away From Locals? -
Introduction -
The consequences of climate change are broadcast regularly: wildfires, sea-level...more