In 2027, the UK will introduce a carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) on imports of certain carbon intensive goods. The CBAM will impose a charge on the emissions embodied in relevant imports that take place on or after...more
4/5/2024
/ Carbon Emissions ,
Environmental Policies ,
EU ,
HMRC ,
Imports ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Taxation ,
UK ,
Value-Added Tax (VAT)
Sustainability reporting and disclosure can bring many benefits, including greater transparency and increased accountability. But unless coupled with, and closely tied to, the implementation of a clear business strategy for...more
How to accelerate the transition to a sustainable economy is a hot regulatory topic for most major economies around the world – and is set to continue ascending the agenda in the years to come. As sustainability-related...more
3/7/2024
/ Asia Pacific ,
Capital Markets ,
Carbon Capture and Sequestration ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Economic Reform ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Global Market ,
Investment ,
Investors ,
Middle East ,
Net Zero ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Sustainability ,
Taxonomy ,
UK ,
United States
Creating an effective regulatory framework will be critical to deliver Net Zero. But does that mean more – or less – regulation?
From trade agreements to taxonomies, carbon adjustment mechanisms to corporate sustainability...more
3/7/2024
/ Asia Pacific ,
Carbon Capture and Sequestration ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Global Economy ,
Global Market ,
Infrastructure ,
Investment Funds ,
Investment Management ,
Investors ,
Middle East ,
Net Zero ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Renewable Energy ,
Sustainability ,
Taxonomy ,
Technology Sector ,
UK ,
United States
In light of the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, the UK and EU, in close collaboration with their G7 partners, have continued to exert economic pressure on Russia through an array of sanctions.
In this bulletin, we...more
Last year, we wrote about ClientEarth’s application to the High Court of England and Wales for permission to bring a judicial review claim, alleging that the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) unlawfully approved the IPO...more
1/18/2024
/ Capital Markets ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Judicial Review ,
Sustainability ,
UK
The Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) new package of sustainability disclosure requirements (SDR) and investment labelling rules is a key pillar of the UK government’s efforts to introduce an economy-wide SDR regime. All...more
12/20/2023
/ Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Greenwashing ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Sustainability ,
Sustainable Business Practices ,
UK
The UK has finally confirmed that it will be following the EU and introducing its own Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) to be implemented by 2027.
It published the eagerly awaited outcome of its consultation on...more
The FCA has issued the final version of its rules for stage one of the UK’s new Sustainability Disclosure Requirements or SDR, together with its new ESG product labelling regime. The rules are detailed and complex. The new...more
The FCA has issued the final version of its new anti-greenwashing rule – part of a package that includes additional rules as stage one of the UK’s new Sustainability Disclosure Requirements or SDR, plus the FCA’s new ESG...more
On 6 October 2023, the Court of Appeal handed down judgment in the case of Mints & ors v PJSC National Bank Trust & anor [2023] EWCA 1332.
The judgment confirmed that the UK’s sanctions do not preclude the English courts...more
12/5/2023
/ Appeals ,
Control Test ,
Financial Institutions ,
HM Treasury ,
International Trade ,
New Legislation ,
Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Russia ,
Sanctions ,
UK ,
UK Supreme Court
As the aviation industry pins its hopes on sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to achieve Net Zero carbon emissions by 2050, Joe Clinton, Matthew Townsend, Richard Chamberlain and Ying-Peng Chin outline the regulatory, investment...more
11/29/2023
/ Aircraft ,
Airlines ,
Aviation Industry ,
Biofuel ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Climate Change ,
EU ,
Middle East ,
Net Zero ,
Popular ,
Renewable Fuel ,
Sustainability ,
Transportation Industry ,
UK
The just transition ambition is grounded in a desire to meet global climate targets, while ensuring improved social and economic outcomes. Global cooperation will be necessary to deliver a just transition but, as...more
We recently hosted an event as part of our Sustainable Transition seminar series titled “Tax incentives for sustainable investments: where are the opportunities?”. In this article, our panellists set out some of the key...more
The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has published its final Green Agreements Guidance on how UK antitrust rules apply to green cooperation agreements between competitors (UK Green Guidance).
The UK Green Guidance...more
10/19/2023
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Climate Change ,
Competition ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
New Guidance ,
Popular ,
Sustainability ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
After facing criticism for restricting various benign overt actions of non-UK organisations, businesses and charities, the FIRS was narrowed before the Bill received Royal Assent on 11 July 2023....more
Until now, however, no comprehensive estimate existed of the of that opportunity, (or, to put it another way, the size of the financing gap between committed spending and the investment needed to deliver Net Zero by 2050...more
9/25/2023
/ Carbon Emissions ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Energy Policy ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Policies ,
EU ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Infrastructure ,
Investment ,
Investment Management ,
Investors ,
Net Zero ,
Paris Agreement ,
Private Investment Funds ,
Renewable Energy ,
Supply Chain ,
Sustainability ,
Sustainable Finance ,
UK
The Commission has launched a far reaching consultation and review of SFDR, long expected by the industry. This bulletin provides an overview, as well as giving thought as to what we might see in terms of SFDR 2.0....more
9/25/2023
/ Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
Investment ,
Investment Management ,
Investors ,
Regulatory Reform ,
SFDR ,
Sustainable Finance ,
Taxonomy ,
UK
Sanctions and the systems and controls companies have in place to comply with them seem to be back in the spotlight.
In addition to guidance recently published by the UK Financial Conduct Authority, a number of recent...more
9/12/2023
/ Arbitration ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
HMRC ,
International Arbitration ,
International Litigation ,
Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Sanctions ,
UK
Three decisions in recent weeks have demonstrated the breadth of the UK Government’s sanctions-related powers and underline a push by the UK to demonstrate the robustness of its sanctions and a focus on their enforcement....more
9/8/2023
/ Asset Freeze ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Export Controls ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
HMRC ,
Russia ,
Trade Relations ,
UK
Environmental, social and governance (ESG) ratings are increasingly used by investors, lenders and regulators to assess the sustainability performance of companies. They can, for example, assess an entity’s exposure to, and...more
In what was dubbed ‘Energy Security Day’, on 30 March 2023, the UK Government released an extensive suite of publications outlining plans to support the country’s legally binding net-zero target by 2050. This included the...more
The UK announced on the 31 March 2023 that it had reached an agreement to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (the CPTPP). The CPTPP is a free trade agreement (FTA) with 11 members...more
Recent policy and regulatory developments have shown that governments and businesses around the world are increasingly focused on consolidating their competitive positions in the green industrial revolution. Significant...more
On 27 January 2023, 11,317 individuals and 17 institutions from the Ogale community in Nigeria filed claims against Shell Plc (Shell) for its alleged role in oil spills in the Niger Delta....more