The Situation: On June 20, 2024, the UK Supreme Court handed down a landmark decision in R (on the application of Finch on behalf of the Weald Action Group) (Appellant) v Surrey County Council and others (Respondents) [2024]...more
7/19/2024
/ Climate Change ,
Energy Projects ,
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) ,
Environmental Policies ,
EU ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Oil & Gas ,
Popular ,
UK ,
UK Supreme Court ,
Urban Planning & Development
The Context: Litigation over State obligations to mitigate climate change intensifies globally, with NGOs and individuals pressuring corporations to cut emissions. The European Court of Human Rights ("ECtHR") issued three...more
The Council of the European Union ("EU") approved the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive ("CS3D") on March 15, 2024. The CS3D contains due diligence and governance obligations that will have an extensive impact...more
3/20/2024
/ Due Diligence ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
EU Directive ,
European Commission ,
Financial Institutions ,
Green Deal ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Risk Assessment ,
Sustainability
The Council of Europe and the European Parliament announced on December 14, 2023, that they reached a political agreement on the text of the upcoming European Union ("EU") Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive...more
REGULATORY ISSUES & UPDATES -
Mandatory Climate Change Reporting Requirements Under the New European ESRS E1 -
The implementation of the European Sustainability Reporting Standards poses risks for reporting companies,...more
12/5/2023
/ Clean Water Act ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Data Protection ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Federal Agency Taskforce ,
Green Initiatives ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
NEPA ,
Net Zero ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
SFDR ,
State and Local Government ,
Sustainability ,
Taxonomy ,
U.S. Treasury ,
UK
As part of the Fit for 55 Package of the EU Green Deal, the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism("CBAM"), adopted through Regulation (EU) 2023/956 of May 10, 2023, is considered by the EU institutions as a key tool to become...more
The EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (“CSRD”) requires the most detailed and onerous ESG reporting and disclosures anywhere in the world. All told, it is estimated that more than 50,000 companies, including...more
9/21/2023
/ Air Pollution ,
Biodiversity ,
Climate Change ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Due Diligence ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Parent Corporation ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Proposed Rules ,
Sustainability ,
Water
REGULATORY ISSUES & UPDATES -
New CFTC Enforcement on Carbon Markets Misconduct -
The U.S. CFTC publishes a rare alert soliciting tips about potential manipulation in the carbon markets and announces the formation of...more
8/18/2023
/ Airlines ,
CARB ,
CFTC ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
EU ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Greenwashing ,
HFC Emissions ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
UK
In Short -
The Situation: The European Union ("EU") has adopted a new regulation designed to tackle deforestation and forest degradation in the EU and globally by preventing European citizens from buying, using, and...more
In Short -
The Situation: Both the United Kingdom and European Union have recently announced proposals to introduce new legal instruments which address alleged greenwashing. When implemented, such legislation would...more
On December 13, 2022, the European Parliament and the Council of the EU reached a provisional agreement on the implementation of the EU Carbon Adjustment Mechanism ("CBAM"), the mechanism designed to complement the European...more
In Short -
The Situation: The transition to the new so-called Medical Device Regulation ("MDR") and In Vitro Diagnostic Regulation ("IVDR"), which establish new rules for the placing on the market of medical devices...more
As indicated in the previous edition of the Climate Report, on July 15, 2022, the European Union Official Journal published Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) of March 9, 2022. This new delegated regulation includes nuclear...more
On July 15, 2022, the European Union Official Journal published Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) of March 9, 2022. The new regulation implements European Regulation (EU) 2020/852 of June 18, 2020 (the "Taxonomy...more
On April 5, 2022, the EU Commission proposed two new regulations to restrict the emission and use of highly potent greenhouse gases, which heavily contribute to global warming, in order to limit global temperature rise and...more
As part of its legislative arsenal to combat climate change, France adopted the Climate and Resilience Law on August 22, 2021 ("Climate Law"), providing for a large number of binding measures against greenhouse gas ("GHG")...more
5/24/2022
/ Advertising ,
Air Pollution ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Policies ,
EU ,
France ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Greenwashing ,
Infrastructure ,
Net Zero ,
New Legislation ,
Pollution Control ,
Regulatory Reform
On March 10, 2022, the European Commission ("the Commission") adopted a decision on the award of grants under the Innovation Fund ("the Fund"). A total of seven projects obtained a grant after a first call for large-scale...more
The delegated regulation includes a new comprehensive and unified reporting methodology to direct investments toward environmentally sustainable economic activities....more
3/1/2022
/ Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Investment ,
Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) ,
Net Zero ,
Real Estate Development ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Taxonomy
As of January 1, 2022, the first delegated acts adopted to supplement European Regulation (EU) 2020/852 of June 18, 2020 (the "Taxonomy Regulation") became applicable. The Taxonomy Regulation sets out a classification system...more
As of January 1, 2022, new French environmental regulations ("RE2020") are coming into force, replacing the former thermic regulations ("RT 2012"). RE2020 creates new rules for the energy, environmental, and health...more
2/28/2022
/ Carbon Emissions ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Construction Project ,
EU ,
France ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Housing Developers ,
Infrastructure ,
Real Estate Development ,
Urban Planning & Development
On August 22, 2021, the French Parliament adopted the Climate and Resilience Law ("2021 Climate Law"). In aiming to accelerate the transition to a carbon-neutral and more resilient society, the 2021 Climate Law imposes...more
11/5/2021
/ Advertising ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Policies ,
EU ,
France ,
Goods or Services ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Greenwashing ,
Labeling ,
New Regulations ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Standards
With the recently adopted SDDA, Germany joins France in imposing human rights and environmental due diligence obligations along international supply chains of large companies. The SDDA covers companies based in Germany with...more
8/20/2021
/ Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Due Diligence ,
Environmental Liability ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
France ,
Germany ,
Human Rights ,
Risk Management ,
Risk-Based Approaches ,
Supply Chain
The European Union ("EU") recently adopted "Regulation (EU) 2021/1119 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 June 2021 establishing the framework for achieving climate neutrality" ("European Climate Law")....more
European courts, both at the Union level and the Member State level, are continuously facing a rising tide of climate litigation cases, with different responses.
At the European Union (EU) level, on March 25, 2021 the Court...more
On June 25, 2020, the Court of Justice of the European Union ("ECJ") delivered a judgment (C24/19) clarifying that orders and circulars of EU Member States that regulate the installation and operation of wind turbines...more