On May 12, 2025, in a 5-2 decision, the Colorado Supreme Court held that the tort claims brought by local governments in Colorado against major fossil fuel companies concerning damages stemming from climate change could...more
Recently, both the State of Hawaii and the State of Michigan had announced that they would be pursuing litigation against fossil fuel companies concerning alleged damages stemming from the companies' contribution to climate...more
5/5/2025
/ Climate Change ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Energy Policy ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Executive Orders ,
Fossil Fuel ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Preemption ,
State and Local Government ,
Trump Administration
Earlier this month, President Trump issued an executive order that sought to target actions undertaken by individual U.S. states to combat climate change, for the stated purpose of ensuring “American energy dominance.”...more
The SEC continues its focus on greenwashing, despite the recent disbandment of the SEC’s Climate & ESG Task Force.Notably, in the past month, the SEC Department of Examinations has issued a risk alert focused on greenwashing,...more
In the latest episode of the Mintz on Air: Predictions and Practical Policies Podcast, ESG Co-chair Jen Rubin moderates a forward-looking discussion on what businesses can expect for ESG, clean tech, and energy regulation...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
Congressional Democrats have been exerting pressure on insurance regulators to integrate climate-related financial risks as part of their supervisory role; a letter was recently sent by Democratic members of the House and...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
On June 4, 2024, a number of Congressional Democrats (10 Senators; 28 Congressmen) sent a letter to SEC Chairman Gensler, urging that the SEC “enforce existing SEC climate disclosure-related guidance” while the legal...more
On April 22, 2024, the federal government issued a rule “amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)” to “implement a requirement for agencies to procure sustainable products and services to the maximum extent...more
A coalition of Republican state attorneys-general representing nineteen states (Alabama, Alaska, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South...more
On March 6, 2024, the SEC issued its long-awaited climate disclosure rule, which mandates the disclosure of climate-related risks and Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions, among other things. The rule was immediately...more
On March 6, 2024, the SEC issued its long-awaited climate disclosure rule, nearly two years after the draft rule was proposed in March 2022. Significantly, this rule required that: (1) companies disclose climate-related...more
Recently, a pair of bills were proposed in the New Hampshire state legislature that would make it a felony to knowingly invest state or taxpayer funds based upon ESG criteria in violation of fiduciary duty. Specifically, the...more
Federal Regulatory Developments -
In a recent filing with the Office of Management and Budget, the Securities & Exchange Commission disclosed that the vote by the SEC Commissioners as to whether to issue the SEC’s...more
1/3/2024
/ Climate Change ,
Disclosure ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
OMB ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sustainability
Federal Regulatory Developments -
The SEC has still not issued its final climate-related disclosure rule (originally proposed in March 2022), despite prior indications that it would do so in the fall of 2023. Recently, SEC...more
Federal Regulatory Developments -
On September 20, 2023, the SEC approved amendments to the “Names Rule,” which had initially been proposed in May 2022. This rule requires investment funds to “adopt a policy to invest at...more
11/3/2023
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Climate Change ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Investment Company Act of 1940 ,
Investment Funds ,
Sustainability
Yesterday, September 26, 2023, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), along with six other Democratic Senators and eighteen Democratic Congressmen, sent a letter to SEC Chairman Gensler concerning the SEC's proposed climate...more
Public media reports have stated that the SEC’s Enforcement Division has been “sen[ding] document requests, including subpoenas” to asset managers in connection with ESG marketing. Apparently, these actions by the SEC’s...more
It has been publicly reported that the Biden Administration's EPA will shortly "announce limits on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants that could compel them to capture the pollution from their smokestacks." In...more
4/25/2023
/ Biden Administration ,
Carbon Capture and Sequestration ,
Clean Energy ,
Climate Change ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Natural Gas ,
Power Plants ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Renewable Energy ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
State and Local ESG Regulation.
Despite recent public statements by notable Republican federal officials, including an SEC Commissioner, that have expressed considerable skepticism towards the SEC’s proposed ESG...more
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
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
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
12/14/2022
/ Climate Change ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Energy Sector ,
Enforcement ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sustainability
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