On August 12, 2024, three Congressional Democrats (Casten (D-IL); Waters (D-CA); and Senator Whitehouse (D-RI)) sent a letter to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), inquiring as to “the status of the...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
A couple of weeks ago, a lawsuit brought by the State of Connecticut against a major fossil fuel company, alleging various violations of the consumer protection laws in Connecticut (specifically, the Connecticut Unfair Trade...more
About a month ago, one of the myriad climate change tort lawsuits brought by state and local governments against major fossil fuel producers was dismissed by a state court judge in Baltimore, Maryland. (These lawsuits have...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
Governor Newsom has proposed that the implementation of California's mandatory climate disclosure laws--which apply to all companies doing business in California and earning more than $500 million in revenue--be delayed for...more
Last week, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated and remanded the appeal from a lower court's decision upholding the Biden Administration's Department of Labor rule enabling ERISA plans to consider ESG factors, ordering...more
2 SEC Commissioner Peirce recently delivered a speech where she extensively criticized the recent emphasis on ESG among businesses, in particular the proliferation of mandatory ESG reporting frameworks. According to...more
Puerto Rico has become the latest governmental entity to launch a lawsuit against the major fossil fuel companies concerning tort claims related to climate change. These lawsuits have proliferated in state courts in recent...more
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 June 25, 2024, thirty-five Republican legislators, including seventeen senators and eighteen representatives, filed an amicus brief in the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in support of the pending challenge to the SEC’s...more
On June 4, 2024, a number of Congressional Democrats (10 Senators; 28 Congressmen) sent a letter to Chairman Gensler of the Securities & Exchange Commission, urging that the SEC “enforce[] [] existing SEC climate...more
Credit Agricole SA, the second-largest bank in France, will no longer participate in fossil fuel financing. Specifically, a spokesperson for this bank stated that it would “no longer participate in bond issuances for oil and...more
About five years ago, the New York City Council enacted Local Law 97, which imposes strict restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions for large buildings (25,000 square feet or larger), and assesses fines and penalties for...more
On Monday, June 3, 2024, the Eleventh Circuit of Appeals held that the “Fearless Strivers Grant Contest, an entrepreneurship funding competition open only to businesses owned by black women” was “substantially unlikely to...more
When the SEC announced its mandatory climate disclosure rule on March 6, 2024, this regulation was immediately challenged by parties on both ends of the political spectrum. A number of states, fossil fuel companies, and...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
It has been reported that the European Central Bank will be imposing fines on as many as four lenders due to “not meeting deadlines set by the ECB for assessing their exposure to climate risks.” Specifically, ECB regulations...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
Today, the Treasury Department and other federal agencies (including the Agriculture Department and Energy Department) issued a joint statement identifying seven principles that should be applied in the voluntary carbon...more
On May 22, 2024, Judge O'Connor (N.D. Tex.) ordered that the plaintiffs claiming that investment managers breached their fiduciary duty due to their ESG-focused investing be certified as a class for purposes of the...more
5/28/2024
/ Breach of Duty ,
Class Certification ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fund Managers ,
Investment ,
Investment Management ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Retirement Plan
On Monday, May 21, 2024, Congressman Nadler (D-NY) and Congressman Correa (D-CA), the ranking Democratic members on the House Judiciary Committee and relevant subcommittee, sent a letter to the Attorney General and Chief...more
Last week, the Attorney General of Michigan announced that her office “will begin seeking proposals from attorneys and law firms . . . to pursue litigation related to the climate change impacts caused by the fossil fuel...more
The UK government, having originally announced that it would decide whether to impose mandatory climate disclosures on companies by July 2024, has now postponed that decision until the first quarter of 2025....more
With environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles garnering increased attention in corporate circles in recent years, there has been an accompanying rise in demand for analytical products that evaluate companies’...more
5/21/2024
/ Asset Management ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Corporate Governance ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Investors ,
Private Equity Funds ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Retail Investors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholders ,
Stakeholder Engagement