On July 25, 2023, Representative Ted Lieu and 19 other Democratic lawmakers from the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, requesting that the Department of Justice...more
9/19/2023
/ Air Pollution ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Energy Policy ,
Energy Reform ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Policies ,
Fossil Fuel ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Infrastructure ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pollution Control ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
RICO ,
Truth in Advertising
In June 2023, the Australian government published an updated Statement of Expectations for the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA), requiring it to, among other things, “promote prudent practices and...more
In June 2023, Climate Action 100+, a climate-focused investor initiative, launched the second phase of its benchmarking program to help investors assess and engage with public companies on climate-related issues. Phase 2...more
To investigate and prosecute the illegal trade of timber around the world and the deforestation that results, the U.S. Department of Justice has formed the Timber Interdiction Membership Board and Enforcement Resource...more
Environmental group ClientEarth has filed a complaint against Cargill, one of the world’s largest soy and grain traders, over alleged deforestation and related human rights issues in Brazil. The complaint, which is not yet...more
On March 28, 2023, the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) announced the release of the fourth and final iteration of its beta framework for nature-related risk management and disclosures, including a...more
In April 2023, Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM) published its 12th annual insurance survey, which not surprisingly includes findings that the industry continues to be focused on the potential impact of climate change....more
On March 29, the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) announced that it would start to develop additional guidance for sector-agnostic European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). In making this...more
On March 27, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Taxonomy Board (ATB), representing ASEAN finance sectoral bodies, released Version 2 of the ASEAN Taxonomy for Sustainable Finance. This follows Version 1, which...more
Climate Action 100+, a climate-focused investor initiative, last month announced an updated framework designed to help investors assess and engage with public companies on climate-related issues. Its March 23 statement...more
Last month, Canada’s Department of Finance published the Sustainable Finance Action Council (SFAC) recommendations for the development of a green taxonomy for sustainable investment, as the country moves toward its goal of...more
On March 22, 2023, Malaysian stock exchange Bursa Malaysia and the London Stock Exchange Group announced the development of a centralized ESG-reporting platform (Platform), due to launch in April 2023. The Platform has been...more
3/29/2023
/ Capital Markets ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Global Economy ,
Investment ,
Investors ,
London Stock Exchange ,
Malaysia ,
Stock Exchange
Last month, Singapore’s Green Finance Industry Taskforce (GFIT) launched the final consultation period to finalize its Green and Transition Taxonomy (the “Taxonomy”). This is Singapore’s third public consultation on the...more
3/16/2023
/ Biodiversity ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Consultation Periods ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Green Finance ,
Net Zero ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Singapore ,
Sustainable Finance ,
Taxonomy
On February 9, 2023, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen spoke at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, urging the World Bank to “evolve” and be “bolder and more imaginative” in its operational approach to tackling...more
3/1/2023
/ Banks ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Debt Instruments ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Green Finance ,
Lending ,
Secretary of the Treasury ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Urban Planning & Development ,
World Bank
On February 7, a group of 30 investors, representing over $1.5 trillion of assets under management, wrote to the CEOs and board chairs of five major European banks “urging them to stop directly financing new oil and gas...more
2/27/2023
/ Banks ,
Barclays ,
BNP Paribas ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Financing ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Energy Projects ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment ,
Oil & Gas ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Reform
Environmental advocacy group As You Sow has sent climate-focused shareholder resolutions to five major U.S. banks. The resolutions request that the banks disclose their climate transition plans for meeting financed emissions...more
Blackrock’s recently released 2023 Investment Stewardship Global Principles, identifies several key themes to guide stakeholders and promote sound corporate governance regarding sustainability-related issues. At a high level,...more
1/24/2023
/ Biodiversity ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
IFRS ,
Investment ,
SASB ,
Sustainability ,
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)