The Federal Court of Australia has imposed a $10.5m (AUD) penalty on an Australian superannuation fund, in the latest of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission's greenwashing cases to reach the penalty hearing...more
New Carbon Removal Certification Framework in Europe -
A voluntary certification framework adopted by the EU aims to enhance the credibility and transparency of carbon removal activities within the EU to support its...more
3/27/2025
/ Carbon Emissions ,
Climate Change ,
Energy Policy ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Executive Orders ,
Greenwashing ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Sustainability ,
Trump Administration
On 13 February 2025, the Australian Federal Parliament passed the Scams Prevention Bill 2025 (Cth) ("Bill"), the first of its kind worldwide....more
Class action procedures vary greatly among jurisdictions. These differences include how developed the procedures are; the types of claims parties can bring; the parties that can represent classes; whether classes are...more
New ESG regulations are expected to have a significant impact on disclosure and governance obligations for EU and non-EU companies alike, including extensive sustainability reporting and due diligence requirements on...more
12/11/2024
/ Carbon Emissions ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Coal Mines ,
Energy Policy ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Hague Convention ,
Infrastructure ,
Pollution Control ,
Shell Oil
The first wave of Australia's expansive privacy law reforms has been introduced into Federal Parliament in the Privacy and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024 (Cth) ("Bill")....more
10/29/2024
/ Australia ,
Cybersecurity ,
Damages ,
Data Breach ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Invasion of Privacy ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform
The Australian federal government recently released its response to the independent review of Australia's amended continuous disclosure regime (the "Independent Review")....more
Although class actions have been common in the United States for decades, they have not been as widely used in the rest of the world. The situation and risks remain in flux, however, as more countries have renewed momentum to...more
Australia has now officially passed laws that will introduce a mandatory climate-related financial disclosure regime from 1 January 2025. This is one of the most significant reforms to corporate financial reporting in...more
REGULATORY ISSUES & UPDATES -
Update on Australia's New Climate-Related Financial Disclosure Regime -
Australia's mandatory climate-related financial disclosure regime is inching closer to implementation after the proposed...more
9/23/2024
/ Clean Air Act ,
Clean Energy ,
Climate Change ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Greenwashing ,
Popular ,
Tax Credits
The Development: Recently, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission ("ACCC") published draft guidelines designed to assist businesses to understand how they can collaborate on sustainability initiatives without...more
Australia's mandatory climate-related financial disclosure regime is inching closer to implementation after the proposed legislative reforms were passed by both Houses of Parliament in September 2024. As discussed in our...more
ESG-related enforcement remains a top priority and focus for Australia's corporate regulators. Since our last update, there has been a steady stream of enforcement activity aimed at climate-related representations and...more
9/17/2024
/ ASIC ,
Australia ,
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) ,
Australian Consumer Law ,
Climate Change ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Environmental Claims ,
Environmental Policies ,
Greenwashing ,
Investment
The Development: On August 22, 2024, the Australian Senate passed the Treasury Laws Amendment (Financial Market Infrastructure and Other Measures) Bill 2024 ("Bill")....more
This White Paper focuses on ESG developments through the Asia-Pacific (“APAC”) region since the start of 2024.
For businesses present in the APAC region, as well as doing business there, it is imperative to be vigilant of...more
7/24/2024
/ Asia Pacific ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Green Energy ,
Greenwashing ,
Net Zero ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Reporting Requirements
The Federal Court of Australia has granted relief to a company under section 1317S of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) ("Act") following declarations that it contravened two civil penalty provisions in relation to one of its...more
Recent legal and regulatory developments, including the joint release of APRA and ASIC guidance concerning the new Financial Accountability Regime, APRA's announcement that it will publish superannuation expense data to...more
REGULATORY ISSUES & UPDATES -
Recent Evolution of the European Regulatory Framework on Greenwashing -
Two new Directives adopted by the EU in 2024—the "Empowering Consumers Directive" and the "Green Claims...more
6/20/2024
/ Air Pollution ,
Carbon Capture and Sequestration ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Clean Air Act ,
Clean Energy ,
Climate Change ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Human Rights ,
Net Zero ,
Power Plants ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sustainability ,
Tax Credits
Although class actions have been common in the United States for decades, they have not been as widely used in the rest of the world. The situation and risks remain in flux, however, as more countries have renewed momentum to...more
On 27 March 2024, Australia's climate disclosure regime moved a significant step closer to implementation, with the federal government's introduction of proposed legislation into Parliament. Any organisations with a presence...more
4/17/2024
/ ASIC ,
Audits ,
Australia ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financial Reporting ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Popular ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Sustainability
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has adopted much anticipated climate-related disclosure rules....more
3/18/2024
/ Climate Change ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Emissions Trading System ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Federal Highway Administration ,
Financial Institutions ,
Green Buildings ,
Green Energy ,
Green Infrastructure ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Greenwashing ,
Proposed Rules ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
UK
Australia continues to be a highly active jurisdiction for climate-related lawsuits. Since our last update in August 2023, we have seen a steady stream of suits commenced against corporations and government bodies in relation...more
3/18/2024
/ ASIC ,
Australia ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Claims ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Environmental Violations ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Greenwashing ,
Net Zero ,
Popular ,
Renewable Energy
The impact of ESG (environmental, social & governance) laws, regulations, and obligations has increased in recent times at an almost incomprehensible rate. This is particularly true in the Asia-Pacific (“APAC”) region. Within...more
2/13/2024
/ Civil Penalty Fund ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Green Energy ,
Greenwashing ,
Natural Resources ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Shareholders ,
Solar Energy
The Situation: The Australian government has released its widely anticipated exposure draft legislation for the introduction of Australia's national mandatory climate-related financial disclosures regime....more
In Short -
The Situation: In 2020, a cruise ship in Australian waters, the Ruby Princess, experienced a COVID‑19 outbreak that resulted in an Australian class action. Part of the class were passengers subject to...more