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
Yesterday, the Ninth Circuit issued an order dismissing the Juliana litigation. In this case, the plaintiffs had asserted that the government had knowingly violated their due process rights by encouraging and permitting the...more
Yesterday, the Second Circuit upheld the district court's award of summary judgment in favor of the defendant concerning certain class actions claims that “the phrase ‘All Natural’ that appeared on the labels of [Defendant's]...more
The European Commission and EU consumer authorities have sent letters to 20 airlines “identifying several types of potentially misleading green claims,” focusing on “claims made by airlines that the CO2 emissions caused by a...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
Last week, the United Kingdom's Financial Conduct Authority issued guidance on its proposed anti-greenwashing rule, which will come into effect at the end of May 2024. (Greenwashing is when a product, service, or firm is...more
The European Parliament has now approved the “Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive,” which will apply to both EU companies and to non-EU companies doing business in the European Union. (There is a phased...more
Recently, the New York Attorney General filed a lawsuit against the American subsidiaries of JBS Group, the Brazilian-based beef producer, asserting that JBS had “violat[ed] New York's consumer protection statutes” through...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
Recently, a Texas federal court denied the defendants' motion to dismiss in a lawsuit featuring allegations that an employer's 401(k) plan, which allegedly relied on ESG principles when making investments, violated ERISA. ...more
3/22/2024
/ 401k ,
Asset Management ,
Breach of Contract ,
Breach of Duty ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Texas
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