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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

NY Times Reports on Coordinated Effort by Republican Officeholders to Penalize Companies' Efforts to Reduce GHG Emissions

The New York Times has reported that the State Financial Officers Association has "push[ed] Republican state treasurers, who are mostly elected officials and who are responsible for managing their state's finances, to use...more

Republican SEC Commissioners Telegraph Continued Opposition to Climate Disclosure Rules

Last week, the two Republican Commissioners of the SEC availed themselves of the opportunity presented by the ability to comment on the Financial Accounting Foundation's Strategic Plan Draft for Public Comment to again voice...more

West Virginia Penalizes Major Companies for Embracing ESG Principles

Yesterday, the state treasurer of West Virginia formally barred his state from conducting business with five major financial institutions because, according to him, "[e]ach financial institution . . . has published written...more

A Diffuse Mission for the SEC's Climate and ESG Task Force?

On July 20, 2022 the SEC issued a press release concerning the resolution of an administrative proceeding in which the defendants "violated certain antifraud and reporting provisions of the federal securities laws and []...more

President Biden's Remarks on Executive Actions in Support of Climate Change Agenda

Earlier this week, President Biden delivered a speech identifying certain executive actions he planned to undertake in order to advance his agenda of combatting climate change. These included: (1) "$2.3 billion to help...more

European Union Labels Natural Gas and Nuclear Energy "Green"

The European Parliament has now "endorsed labeling some gas and nuclear energy projects as 'green.'" This designation will now enable these energy projects to have "access to hundreds of billions of euros in cheap loans and...more

Implications of West Virginia v. EPA on Proposed SEC Climate Rules

The Supreme Court, in West Virginia v. EPA, effectively limited the ability of the EPA to issue significant regulations designed to address climate change absent further Congressional action. And any Congressional...more

Republican SEC Commissioner Peirce Objects to SEC Regulatory Agenda

On June 22, 2022, in response to the SEC's release of its regulatory agenda , Republican SEC Commissioner Hester M. Peirce vigorously objected to the policies and regulatory goals announced by the Biden Administration's SEC. ...more

CFTC Wades Into Climate Regulation

On June 2, 2022, the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) issued a Request for Information ("RFI") for "public comment on climate-related financial risk to better inform its understanding and oversight of...more

French Regulator Calls For Regulation of Providers of ESG Ratings and Other Services

The AMF, the stock market regulator in France, recently reiterated its call for stricter regulation on a Europe-wide basis of the entities providing ESG ratings and other services. Specifically, the AMF stated that the...more

SEC Announces Disclosures and Rules Changes Intended to Combat "Greenwashing"

Today, the SEC issued two complementary press releases announcing certain proposed rules. First, the SEC announced "proposed amendments to enhance and modernize the Investment Company Act 'Names Rule'" that would "extend the...more

Organizations Taking Into Account Increased Wildfire Risk Due to Climate Change

A non-profit research group, First Street Foundation, recently released data that calculates the wildfire risk for each property in the United States (excluding Alaska and Hawaii). Notably, according to First Street...more

SEC Climate and ESG Task Force Issues First Enforcement Action

The SEC's Climate and ESG Task Force has now issued its first enforcement action. The SEC has brought a 76-page complaint in federal district court against Vale, S.A., a Brazilian mining company, alleging that Vale "ma[de]...more

SEC Chairman Gensler Re-Affirms Support for Mandatory Climate Disclosures

In a speech delivered on May 6, 2022 to the Annual Conference on Financial Market Regulation, SEC Chairman Gensler again re-affirmed his support for the SEC's recent proposed mandatory climate disclosures. ...more

Political Criticism by Congressional Republicans of SEC Proposal on Mandatory Climate Disclosures

The SEC has received two comment letters from members of Congress--one from the House of Representatives and one from the Senate--criticizing its proposal for mandatory climate disclosures....more

Climate Risks Prompting Shifts By Real Estate Investors

The prospect of climate change, and the corresponding elevated risks to various forms of property and investments, are increasingly beginning to be priced in to widening swathes of the economy. While the energy...more

SEC Chairman Gensler Defends Proposed Climate Disclosures

SEC Chairman Gensler delivered a set of prepared remarks at the Ceres Investor Briefing on April 12, 2022, in which he defended the SEC's newly proposed rule concerning climate disclosures. As expected, Chairman...more

SEC's Proposed Climate Disclosures Receive Support from Bank of America

According to Paul Donofrio, the head of sustainability at Bank of America, the SEC's proposal for climate disclosures is "constructive and headed in the right direction." Donofrio voiced further support for the SEC's...more

Senator Manchin Criticizes Proposed SEC Climate Disclosures

Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) has issued a public letter criticizing the SEC's recent proposal for mandatory climate disclosures. Specifically, Manchin questions the need for such a rule based on the fact that a majority of...more

A Brief Summary of the SEC’s Proposed Climate-Related Rules

On March 21, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) unveiled its long-anticipated proposed rules on climate disclosures, entitled “The Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for...more

FERC Chairman Glick's Job at Risk After Advancing Efforts to Combat Climate Change

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ("FERC"), which regulates the transmission and wholesale sale of electricity and natural gas, and also oversees the U.S. pipeline infrastructure, including the review process for...more

SEC Issues Proposed Regulation on Mandatory Climate Disclosures

On March 21, 2022, the SEC finally issued a proposed rule on mandatory climate disclosures. This proposed rule has been expected for some time--it was widely anticipated to be a centerpiece of the Biden Administration's...more

Shareholder Lawsuit Filed Against Shell Board of Directors in the UK Concerning Failure to Prepare for Climate Change

ClientEarth, an environmental law organization, has filed a shareholder derivative lawsuit in the United Kingdom against Shell's board of directors for an alleged failure to adequately prepare Shell for the impact of climate...more

Raskin Nomination for Federal Reserve Torpedoed by Conservative Objections to Potential Climate Regulations

Yesterday, Sarah Bloom Raskin, who had previously served as a Federal Reserve governor and deputy Treasury secretary during the Obama administration, withdrew her nomination to be the Federal Reserve's vice chair of...more

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