This week, “BNP Paribas SA, the European Union's biggest bank” stated that it “is no longer participating in conventional bond issuance for” “oil and gas producers.” In essence, BNP Paribas has announced that it will cease...more
This week, Governor DeSantis of Florida signed into law certain legislation that expressly seeks to minimize ongoing efforts to combat climate change, and indeed erects various roadblocks to actions designed to promote...more
On May 10, 2024, the Fifth Circuit rejected an attempt by the States of Texas, Louisiana, West Virginia, and Utah to invalidate an SEC rule “requiring funds to disclose their votes on environmental, social, and governance...more
On May 13, 2024, a group of 21 Democratic Congressmen--4 Senators and 16 Representatives, as well as the D.C. Delegate--submitted a letter to SEC Chairman Gensler, urging him “to finalize an anti-greenwashing rule you...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
Earlier this week, a state court judge in Oklahoma issued a temporary restraining order that blocks--for now--enforcement of an Oklahoma law that deprives companies deemed to boycott the fossil fuel industry of the ability to...more
The Oklahoma State Treasurer added yet another bank to its blacklist of companies that are barred from doing business with the State of Oklahoma due to a “boycott [of] the oil-and-gas industry.” According to a 2022 law,...more
As recently reported by Columbia Law School's Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, “the number of climate-related cases filed globally each year has increased from a handful in the early 2000s to a few hundred annually since...more
Earlier this week, the Eighth Circuit issued an order enabling 19 Democratic Attorneys-General--representing the District of Columbia and eighteen states (AZ, CO, CT, DE, HA, IL, MD, MA, MI, MN, NV, NM, NY, OR, RI, VT, WA,...more
Yesterday, the Ninth Circuit issued an order dismissing the Juliana litigation. In this case, the plaintiffs had asserted that the government had knowingly violated their due process rights by encouraging and permitting the...more
Yesterday, the Second Circuit upheld the district court's award of summary judgment in favor of the defendant concerning certain class actions claims that “the phrase ‘All Natural’ that appeared on the labels of [Defendant's]...more
The European Commission and EU consumer authorities have sent letters to 20 airlines “identifying several types of potentially misleading green claims,” focusing on “claims made by airlines that the CO2 emissions caused by a...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
Last week, the United Kingdom's Financial Conduct Authority issued guidance on its proposed anti-greenwashing rule, which will come into effect at the end of May 2024. (Greenwashing is when a product, service, or firm is...more
The European Parliament has now approved the “Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive,” which will apply to both EU companies and to non-EU companies doing business in the European Union. (There is a phased...more
Recently, the New York Attorney General filed a lawsuit against the American subsidiaries of JBS Group, the Brazilian-based beef producer, asserting that JBS had “violat[ed] New York's consumer protection statutes” through...more
Yesterday, Congressman McHenry (R-NC), the Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, hosted a hearing entitled: “Beyond Scope: How the SEC's Climate Rule Threatens American Markets.” As could be expected, the...more
Today, the European Court of Human Rights issued a decision holding that Switzerland violated the human rights of its citizens by failing to adequately protect them from climate change. Specifically, the Court held that...more
Today, the SEC issued an order to stay the recently promulgated climate disclosure rule until the courts have the opportunity to judicially review the climate disclosure rule. Specifically, the SEC stated that it “has...more
During the opening remarks of the two-day SEC Speaks Conference, Chairman Gensler failed to express any statement of support in connection with the SEC's recently promulgated rule on mandatory climate disclosures. (Instead,...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 Texas federal court denied the defendants' motion to dismiss in a lawsuit featuring allegations that an employer's 401(k) plan, which allegedly relied on ESG principles when making investments, violated ERISA. ...more
3/22/2024
/ 401k ,
Asset Management ,
Breach of Contract ,
Breach of Duty ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Texas
Today, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an administrative stay of the SEC's recent climate disclosure rule, which was issued last Wednesday, March 6, 2024. The unpublished order by a three judge panel (Jones,...more
The Securities & Exchange Commission ("SEC") issued its long-awaited final rule concerning climate disclosures, entitled “The Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors” (“Climate Disclosure...more
3/15/2024
/ Carbon Pricing ,
Climate Change ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Final Rules ,
Governance Standards ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Investment ,
Renewable Energy ,
Risk Assessment ,
Safe Harbors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Severe Weather ,
Sustainability
On the same day that the SEC issued its long-awaited rule on climate disclosures, ten states (West Virginia, Georgia, Alabama, Alaska, Indiana, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Virginia, and Wyoming, which are all...more