On April 4, 2024, the Delaware Supreme Court issued a much-anticipated decision, In re Match Group Derivative Litigation (“In re Match Group”), extending the MFW doctrine more broadly to all conflicted controller...more
Greenwashing remains at the top of enforcement agendas in 2024. Marketing products and services as “green” and “sustainable” is a common practice and seen as an important way to attract the attention of environmentally...more
On April 12, 2024, a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion in Macquarie Infrastructure Corp. v. Moab Partners, L. P., vacating a judgment of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit that had reinstated claims...more
During 2023 the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) engaged in several regulatory actions aimed at further clarifying its jurisdictional reach over environmental commodity markets generally and the voluntary carbon...more
According to an annual report published on October 18, 2023, members of the Net Zero Asset Owner Alliance (NZAOA) have stepped up their commitments by setting new intermediate targets in four key areas, i.e., sub-portfolio...more
On September 18, 2023, following a two-year development process, the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) published its final recommendations (the Recommendations) to help market participants with...more
11/29/2023
/ Biodiversity ,
Business Strategies ,
Capital Investments ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Regulatory Requirements
On September 27, 2023, six “Portuguese young people” were heard by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in a lawsuit against 32 European governments, including all EU member states, alleging that their failure to act...more
11/14/2023
/ Air Pollution ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Policies ,
EU ,
European Court of Human Rights ,
Global Warming ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Human Rights ,
Paris Agreement ,
Public Health
What’s in a name? According to the Securities and Exchange Commission, quite a bit. On September 20, 2023, the SEC adopted amendments to the Investment Company Act of 1940, most notably to the “Names Rule” governing the names...more
On September 19, 2023, the European Parliament and European Council agreed on a proposed set of rules to ban misleading advertisements and enhance product information provided to consumers. “Empowering Consumers for the Green...more
On September 19, 2023, the U.S. Treasury Department introduced nine guiding principles for private sector financial institutions that have made net-zero commitments. The principles are intended to highlight and encourage the...more
In August 2023, American Airlines, Inc. moved to dismiss a class action lawsuit filed against the airline for allegedly jeopardizing employees’ retirement savings by investing in environmental, social and governance (ESG)...more
10/25/2023
/ 401k ,
American Airlines ,
BlackRock ,
Class Action ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment Funds ,
Investment Management ,
Investment Opportunities ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Retirement Plan
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), Hong Kong’s de facto central banking institution, issued a directive for banks setting out high-level principles on planning for a transition to a net-zero economy. In a “Dear CEO”...more
10/17/2023
/ Banks ,
Business Strategies ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Hong Kong ,
Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) ,
Net Zero ,
Transparency
On September 27, 2023, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines filed a request with the Amsterdam District Court, asking it to dismiss a greenwashing suit brought by environmental activist groups. According to a statement by ClientEarth,...more
In August 2023, following this year’s proxy voting season, two of the world’s largest asset managers published their voting records, which revealed that their support for environmental and social shareholder resolutions had...more
In a report published in August 2023, non-profit disclosure organization CDP concluded that financial institutions often are not accounting for nature-related risks and opportunities in their “financial decision-making,” and...more
In early September 2023, the Green Technical Advisory Group (GTAG) issued two reports relating to the treatment of green financial products and taxonomy reporting. GTAG was established in 2021 and is an expert group that...more
In August 2023, the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) issued its proposed International Standard on Sustainability Assurance (ISSA) 5000, “General Requirements for Sustainability Assurance...more
A new study by the IBM Institute for Business Value found that approximately half of CEOs and their executive teams surveyed have their compensation tied to the organizations’ performance in relation to sustainability goals....more
Amid ongoing scrutiny over proxy voting (particularly in relation to ESG-related resolutions), the UK’s financial regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority, has launched a consultation aimed at developing a vote-reporting...more
In late July 2023, House Republicans on the Financial Services Committee introduced four bills targeting various business and market activities that implicate environmental, social, and governance issues. In a statement...more
9/7/2023
/ Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Popular ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Proxy Voting ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Proposals
In a civil suit filed in Oregon state court in June 2023, an Oregon county is suing more than a dozen large oil, gas and coal companies, seeking more than $50 million in damages, in connection with a 2021 “heat dome” and...more
9/5/2023
/ Chevron ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
ConocoPhillips ,
Energy Policy ,
Environmental Policies ,
Fossil Fuel ,
Fraud ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Infrastructure ,
Investment ,
Negligence ,
Oil & Gas ,
Oregon ,
Public Nuisance ,
Severe Weather ,
Shell Oil
Environmental law NGO ClientEarth has written to the Global Public Policy Committee (GPPC), which brings together representatives of the six large international accounting organizations, to request greater transparency and...more
The Whistleblower Office of the Division of Enforcement of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) issued an alert on June 20, 2023 advising the public on how to identify and report potential violations connected to...more
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has introduced the Recognition and Accountability Framework to recognize voluntary climate change pledges by non-state actors and ensure greater transparency...more
On July 5, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) released a statement on the Net-Zero Insurance Alliance’s (NZIA) progress towards net-zero targets. The NZIA is convened by the UN Principles for Sustainable Insurance (PSI) and...more