The UK government, having originally announced that it would decide whether to impose mandatory climate disclosures on companies by July 2024, has now postponed that decision until the first quarter of 2025....more
This week, “BNP Paribas SA, the European Union's biggest bank” stated that it “is no longer participating in conventional bond issuance for” “oil and gas producers.” In essence, BNP Paribas has announced that it will cease...more
This week, Governor DeSantis of Florida signed into law certain legislation that expressly seeks to minimize ongoing efforts to combat climate change, and indeed erects various roadblocks to actions designed to promote...more
As recently reported by Columbia Law School's Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, “the number of climate-related cases filed globally each year has increased from a handful in the early 2000s to a few hundred annually since...more
Earlier this week, the Eighth Circuit issued an order enabling 19 Democratic Attorneys-General--representing the District of Columbia and eighteen states (AZ, CO, CT, DE, HA, IL, MD, MA, MI, MN, NV, NM, NY, OR, RI, VT, WA,...more
On March 6, 2024, the SEC issued its long-awaited climate disclosure rule, which mandates the disclosure of climate-related risks and Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions, among other things. The rule was immediately...more
Yesterday, Congressman McHenry (R-NC), the Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, hosted a hearing entitled: “Beyond Scope: How the SEC's Climate Rule Threatens American Markets.” As could be expected, the...more
Today, the European Court of Human Rights issued a decision holding that Switzerland violated the human rights of its citizens by failing to adequately protect them from climate change. Specifically, the Court held that...more
Today, the SEC issued an order to stay the recently promulgated climate disclosure rule until the courts have the opportunity to judicially review the climate disclosure rule. Specifically, the SEC stated that it “has...more
During the opening remarks of the two-day SEC Speaks Conference, Chairman Gensler failed to express any statement of support in connection with the SEC's recently promulgated rule on mandatory climate disclosures. (Instead,...more
On March 6, 2024, the SEC issued its long-awaited climate disclosure rule, nearly two years after the draft rule was proposed in March 2022. Significantly, this rule required that: (1) companies disclose climate-related...more
Today, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an administrative stay of the SEC's recent climate disclosure rule, which was issued last Wednesday, March 6, 2024. The unpublished order by a three judge panel (Jones,...more
The Securities & Exchange Commission ("SEC") issued its long-awaited final rule concerning climate disclosures, entitled “The Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors” (“Climate Disclosure...more
3/15/2024
/ Carbon Pricing ,
Climate Change ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Final Rules ,
Governance Standards ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Investment ,
Renewable Energy ,
Risk Assessment ,
Safe Harbors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Severe Weather ,
Sustainability
On the same day that the SEC issued its long-awaited rule on climate disclosures, ten states (West Virginia, Georgia, Alabama, Alaska, Indiana, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Virginia, and Wyoming, which are all...more
Today, after nearly two years of anticipation, the SEC finally enacted a climate disclosure rule on a 3-2 party-line vote by the SEC Commissioners. As described by SEC Commissioner Lizarrage, “[b]y requiring registrants to...more
The Securities & Exchange Commission has announced that it will be voting on “whether to adopt rules to require registrants to provide certain climate-related information in their registration statements and annual...more
Since the SEC proposed its climate disclosure rule in March 2022, the rule has been subject to significant public criticism and comment--particularly from business groups and conservative legislators who have questioned the...more
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, in combination with a number of other organized business interests, recently filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking to invalidate two of the climate disclosure laws enacted by California last...more
Recently, a pair of bills were proposed in the New Hampshire state legislature that would make it a felony to knowingly invest state or taxpayer funds based upon ESG criteria in violation of fiduciary duty. Specifically, the...more
Over the past few years, activist investors have submitted a number of shareholder proposals to major fossil fuel companies concerning issues relating to climate change. Recently, two such investors submitted a proposal...more
On January 24, 2024, Senators Tester (D-Montana) and Sinema (I-Arizona) submitted a letter to the SEC concerning the SEC's proposed “Climate Disclosure Rule,” which would mandate, among other things, disclosures of greenhouse...more
It has been reported--based upon an analysis by Morningstar--that “[i]nvestors pulled $5 billion from U.S. sustainable funds in the fourth quarter [of 2023] for a total of $13 billion last year [2023].” According to the same...more
On January 9, 2024, a Delaware state court judge issued his opinion on the various motions to dismiss filed in the case brought by the State of Delaware against the major fossil fuel companies. (This case is one of...more
Federal Regulatory Developments -
In a recent filing with the Office of Management and Budget, the Securities & Exchange Commission disclosed that the vote by the SEC Commissioners as to whether to issue the SEC’s...more
1/3/2024
/ Climate Change ,
Disclosure ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
OMB ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sustainability
A number of significant regulatory, legal, market, and ESG-related developments and issues will affect how public companies approach the upcoming year-end reporting process. As in past years, Mintz has prepared an in-depth...more
12/18/2023
/ 10b5-1 Plans ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) ,
Clawbacks ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Form 10-K ,
Form 8-K ,
Nasdaq ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Meetings ,
Trading Plans ,
Year-End Planning