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President Biden Issues First Veto to Protect ESG Investing

Today, President Biden issued the first veto of his presidency. This action had been heavily telegraphed in advance and was widely expected. Nonetheless, this veto is extraordinarily significant....more

SEC Commissioner Uyeda Suggests that ESG Disclosures Contribute to Decline in IPOs

In a recent lecture delivered at Columbia Law School/Business School at the "Going Public in the 2020s" conference, SEC Commissioner Uyeda bemoaned "the general decline in the number of public companies over the past...more

Antitrust Practitioners Expect Activity With Climate Issues

As we have noted previously, a number of Republican politicians had previously identified antitrust law as a potential counter to ESG efforts, particularly if companies began to coordinate a response to climate change. Even...more

Energy & Sustainability Litigation Updates — February 2023

Regulatory Developments - During the past several weeks, there have been a couple of notable developments in connection with the SEC’s proposed climate disclosures rule, “The Enhancement and Standardization of...more

California Legislators Propose Three Climate Bills Focused on ESG Disclosure and Investment

Three bills have recently been proposed by a trio of California state legislators concerning ESG financial disclosures and investing. The first, SB 253, would "require all large corporations that do business in California to...more

SEC Commissioner Questions ESG Investing

Last week, SEC Commissioner Uyeda delivered an address in which he "focus[ed] on issues related to asset managers' use of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investment strategies." While his talk addressed many...more

Energy & Sustainability Litigation Updates - January 2023

Climate Change Litigation: Beginning in 2017, an array of state and local governments began pursuing claims against major fossil fuel producers — particularly the major oil companies (Chevron, Exxon, BP, Shell, and...more

Chair Powell States Federal Reserve is Not a "Climate Policymaker"

Today, Chair Powell of the Federal Reserve delivered a speech at the Symposium of Central Bank Independence in Stockholm, Sweden, in which he stated that the Federal Reserve is "not, and will not be, a 'climate policymaker,'"...more

Latest Climate Change Tort Lawsuit Brings Civil RICO Claims

Beginning in 2017, an array of state and local governments have pursued tort claims against major fossil fuel producers (e.g., the major oil companies) alleging, inter alia, common law claims of nuisance based upon the...more

Caremark Liability Following the SEC’s New ESG Reporting Requirements

Recent developments in the Court of Chancery concerning a corporate board’s duty to monitor and provide oversight over a corporation’s operations, so-called Caremark claims, are likely to intersect with the Securities and...more

Ratings Agencies Increase Focus on "Green Ratings"

S&P recently purchased Shades of Green, which has been described as "the largest external reviewer of sustainable bond and green financing frameworks." This acquisition emphasizes the recent strategic move by major ratings...more

Energy & Sustainability Litigation Updates — December 2022

SEC Enforcement: In its yearly summary of enforcement activity, the SEC chose to highlight ESG-related issues as one of only a handful of subject matter areas that the SEC is focused on, indicating the significant priority...more

Republican SEC Commissioners Continue to Criticize Proposed Climate Disclosures

Last week, SEC Commissioner Peirce delivered a lengthy speech at the American Enterprise Institute, in which she extensively criticized the climate disclosure rules proposed by the SEC. Her critique deliberately extended...more

Preparation for 2022 Fiscal Year-End SEC Filings and 2023 Annual Shareholder Meetings

Public companies initiating the year-end reporting process will need to consider, and in many cases take steps to address, a number of significant developments and issues. To assist companies in this process, Mintz has...more

Department of Labor Enables Consideration of ESG Factors in ERISA Investments

Yesterday, the Department of Labor "released a final rule under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) . . . [that] clarif[ied] that fiduciaries may consider climate change and other environmental, social, and...more

Energy & Sustainability Litigation Updates — November 2022

Regulatory Developments. During the past month, there have been two notable developments in connection with the SEC’s proposed climate disclosures rule — “The Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for...more

Biden Administration Proposes That Federal Contractors Must Disclose GHG Emissions

Last Thursday, the Biden Administration proposed that all federal contractors (except those receiving less than $7.5 million annually in contracts) be required to, among other things, disclose their GHG emissions....more

SEC is Rumored to Be Dropping Scope 3 GHG Emissions Disclosures from Final Climate Disclosure Rule

It has been publicly reported that the SEC is considering dropping “Scope 3” GHG emissions from the mandatory climate disclosures that were proposed last March. Such a development--a major change to the key policy initiative...more

Potential Delay of SEC Climate Disclosures Rule Due to Reopening of Comments Period to Address Technical Issue

Last Friday, the SEC re-opened the comment period on its climate disclosures rule--"The Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors"--for a period of "14 days following publication of the...more

Public Criticism of Ratings Used for ESG Investing

Today's edition of the New York Times featured an opinion piece that critiqued ESG investing--and not from the perspective that "values" investing is economically counter-productive. (For that viewpoint, the editorial page...more

Republican SEC Commissioner Peirce Questions Proposed SEC Rule Concerning ESG "Greenwashing"

In remarks delivered today to the SEC Investor Advisory Committee, SEC Commissioner Pierce--one of the Republican appointees to the Commission--offered a critique of the proposed SEC rule re: "greenwashing," which is the...more

SEC Chairman Gensler Re-Affirms Importance of Climate Disclosures in Senate Testimony

Today, SEC Chairman Gensler testified before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. His remarks were wide-ranging, and touched upon a number of different SEC priorities--but Chairman Gensler made sure...more

Republican Senators Press Judicial Nominee to Third Circuit on ESG Issues

During the Senate Judiciary Committee's hearing on the nomination of Delaware Supreme Court Justice Montgomery-Reeves to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, certain Republican Senators, including Grassley (R-Iowa) and Lee...more

Energy & Sustainability Litigation Updates — September 2022

Climate Change Tort Litigation - Beginning in 2017, an array of state and local governments have pursued claims against major fossil fuel producers — particularly the major oil companies (Chevron, Exxon, BP, Shell, and...more

Draft SEC Five-Year Strategic Plan Emphasizes Importance of Climate Disclosures

Recently, the SEC issued its five-year strategic plan for public comment.  This strategic plan covers a wide variety of topics, ranging from adapting to new technology to plans for increasing internal SEC workforce...more

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