SEC Commissioner Uyeda, one of the Republican appointees to the Securities & Exchange Commission, recently stated (in remarks at the 2025 “SEC Speaks” Conference) that the SEC should not rescind the climate disclosure rule...more
Federal Regulation On April 8, 2025, President Trump issued an executive order that sought to target actions undertaken by individual US states to combat climate change, for the stated purpose of ensuring “American energy...more
On April 24, 2025, the Eighth Circuit ordered that the litigation over the validity of the SEC's climate disclosure rule be “held in abeyance.” This order was in response to a submission by a coalition of blue states that...more
On March 27, 2025, as expected, the SEC under the Trump administration abandoned the climate disclosure rule promulgated by the Biden administration, specifically stating in a court filing that it would no longer defend the...more
As expected, the SEC under the Trump Administration has abandoned the climate disclosure rule promulgated by the Biden Administration. Specifically, as stated in a court filing today, “the Commission has determined that it...more
3/28/2025
/ Appeals ,
Biden Administration ,
Climate Change ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Final Rules ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Trump Administration
The Trump administration’s SEC has begun the process of undoing the mandatory climate disclosure rule promulgated by the SEC under the Biden administration. Specifically, the SEC has now asked the Eighth Circuit — where the...more
In June 2023, Mintz published an article entitled “A Quantitative Analysis of Comment Letters Issued by the SEC Concerning Climate Change Disclosures” (the June 2023 Article), which analyzed the comment letters related to...more
2/20/2025
/ Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
EDGAR ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Greenwashing ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sustainability
In a development that could hardly be termed unexpected, the Trump Administration SEC has begun the process of unraveling the climate disclosure rule promulgated by the SEC under the Biden Administration. Specifically, the...more
Over the past several weeks, each of the major US banks have announced their withdrawal from the Net Zero Banking Alliance (presumably in response to the policy priorities of the second Trump Administration). Although...more
Judge Wright (C.D. Cal.) has significantly narrowed the Chamber of Commerce's lawsuit challenging California's climate disclosure laws. (These disclosure laws mandate disclosure of Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3 greenhouse...more
2/7/2025
/ California ,
Chamber of Commerce ,
Climate Change ,
Compliance ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
First Amendment ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Interstate Commerce ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
State and Local Government ,
Supremacy Clause
Regulatory Updates -
There have been a couple of noteworthy developments in recent weeks concerning the mandatory climate disclosure regime enacted by California. These developments relate to SB 253 and SB 261, which...more
1/8/2025
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
California ,
Climate Change ,
Damages ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Environmental Policies ,
Fossil Fuel ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Montana ,
State Attorneys General ,
Sustainability
On December 16, 2024, the California Air Resources Board--the regulatory agency responsible for implementing California's mandatory climate disclosure regime--solicited public feedback concerning the design of the regulation....more
Every year, Mintz provides analysis of the regulatory developments that impact public companies as they prepare for their fiscal year-end filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and their annual shareholder...more
2 On December 5, 2024, the California Air Resources Board--the agency responsible for implementing California's climate disclosure regulations--announced that it would “exercise enforcement discretion for the first reporting...more
According to a recent report, the climate disclosure rules recently promulgated by the European Union will compel more than 3,000 U.S. companies to file mandatory climate-related disclosures. This fact demonstrates the...more
1 On November 4, the SEC's Division of Examinations issued a risk alert that identified systematic problems with funds' ESG disclosures. Specifically, the SEC stated that “[f]unds [] mischaracterized the use of...more
On November 5, a federal district court judge in California denied plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment in a facial challenge to California's climate disclosure laws. Although this ruling is relatively limited in...more
Despite the recent disbandment of the SEC’s Climate & ESG Task Force, the SEC is continuing to pursue enforcement actions concerning environmental issues, including greenwashing. Notably, over the past several weeks, the SEC...more
This summer, California Governor Newsom had proposed that California delay the implementation date of its climate disclosure law for two years. The California legislature rejected this proposal, instead passing S.B. 219,...more
The Securities & Exchange Commission has disbanded its Climate & ESG Task Force, which had been launched with great fanfare in March 2021 at the beginning of the Biden administration. However, the Climate & ESG Task Force had...more
Recently, Governor Newsom proposed that California delay the implementation of its recently-enacted climate disclosure laws for two years. The California legislature has effectively rejected this proposal by passing S.B....more
It has been reported that the Securities & Exchange Commission has disbanded its Climate & ESG Task Force. This same task force had been launched with great fanfare in March 2021, at the beginning of the Biden...more
Companies in Australia will soon have to abide by a set of significant climate disclosures aligned with the International Sustainability Standards Board guidelines. These disclosures, which will impose significant compliance...more
Earlier this year, the SEC issued its long-awaited regulation concerning mandatory climate disclosures. As expected, this climate disclosure rule was immediately challenged in the courts by, among others, conservative states...more
Regulatory Updates -
Governor Newsom (D-CA) recently proposed a two-year delay to California’s sweeping new mandatory climate disclosures, which apply to all large companies—public or private—doing business in California....more
8/2/2024
/ Chevron Deference ,
Climate Change ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Fossil Fuel ,
Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Sustainability