On October 26, 2023, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) published a report with recommendations for linking climate-related actions taken by non-state actors (NSAs) to the Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF) established by...more
On September 7, 2023, Allianz SE unveiled its first net-zero transition plan for its core business segments, featuring 2030 intermediate targets to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. The Munich-based insurance firm’s...more
The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea held a series of public hearings that started September 11, 2023 following a request submitted by the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change (COSIS) to clarify...more
On September 21, 2023, a Texas federal court dismissed an action commenced by more than two dozen Republican state attorneys general challenging a 2022 Department of Labor (DOL) Rule that addressed consideration of ESG...more
11/8/2023
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
Investment Opportunities ,
Retirement Plan
On September 19, 2023, the U.S. Treasury Department introduced nine guiding principles for private sector financial institutions that have made net-zero commitments. The principles are intended to highlight and encourage the...more
On September 16, 2023, California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit against five of the world’s largest oil and gas companies for allegedly denying or downplaying the harm caused by fossil fuels on climate change....more
10/27/2023
/ Air Quality Standards ,
California ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Critical Habitat ,
Energy Policy ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Policies ,
Fossil Fuel ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Infrastructure ,
Oil & Gas
On October 7, 2023, Governor Newsom passed Senate Bills 253 and 261 into law, which significantly expand California companies’ disclosure requirements concerning greenhouse gas emissions and climate-related financial risks....more
Ahead of September 2023’s G20 summit in Delhi, the Farm Animal Investment Risk & Return (FAIRR) Initiative called on G20 Finance Ministers to reform agricultural subsidies to enable countries to meet their net zero greenhouse...more
10/11/2023
/ Agribusiness ,
Biodiversity ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
COP ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
G20 ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Investment ,
Net Zero ,
Subsidies
California lawmakers seek to raise the bar on climate regulation through the California Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act (Senate Bill 253), which would require large public and private companies to disclose their...more
9/21/2023
/ California ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Policies ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Infrastructure ,
Pollution Control ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform
In a civil suit filed in Oregon state court in June 2023, an Oregon county is suing more than a dozen large oil, gas and coal companies, seeking more than $50 million in damages, in connection with a 2021 “heat dome” and...more
9/5/2023
/ Chevron ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
ConocoPhillips ,
Energy Policy ,
Environmental Policies ,
Fossil Fuel ,
Fraud ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Infrastructure ,
Investment ,
Negligence ,
Oil & Gas ,
Oregon ,
Public Nuisance ,
Severe Weather ,
Shell Oil
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has introduced the Recognition and Accountability Framework to recognize voluntary climate change pledges by non-state actors and ensure greater transparency...more
To investigate and prosecute the illegal trade of timber around the world and the deforestation that results, the U.S. Department of Justice has formed the Timber Interdiction Membership Board and Enforcement Resource...more
In May 2023, the World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA) released a report on the first edition of its Financial System Benchmark, which assesses financial institutions’ progress toward climate change goals. The WBA is a non-profit...more
On April 21, 2023, President Biden announced new initiatives to further his administration’s commitment to addressing the impact of climate change on communities “with environmental justice concerns,” including low-income...more
In April 2023, the Centre for Climate Finance & Investment and the International Energy Agency issued a report identifying and addressing the investment gap in renewable and clean energy in the Association of Southeast Asian...more
On April 28, 2023, French multi-national energy company TotalEnergies filed a civil action in France against environmental activist group Greenpeace France and climate consulting group Factor-X alleging that a report issued...more
On April 18, 2023, the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC) published a “Net Zero Standard for Oil & Gas.” Development of the Standard follows a two-year collaborative process led by IIGCC with support from...more
The United Nations General Assembly, the UN’s primary policy-making body, has adopted a resolution requesting an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the obligations of its 193 member states...more
5/10/2023
/ Advisory Opinions ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
General Assembly ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Infrastructure ,
International Court of Justice (ICJ) ,
Renewable Energy ,
United Nations
Munich Re, Zurich and Hannover Re, three major insurance providers, announced their exit from the Net-Zero Insurance Alliance (NZIA) in the span of one month between March and April 2023. The NZIA is a UN-convened group of...more
A trial has been scheduled for June 12 in a case involving climate-related constitutional challenges to actions by the State of Montana, its governor, and various state agencies. In Held v. Montana, sixteen Montana...more
Earlier this month, the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System (KPERS) urged legislators to reject key aspects of “anti-ESG” bills introduced in the Kansas Senate and House of Representatives. Both bills are designed, in...more
3/24/2023
/ Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Employee Benefits ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Investment Management ,
Investment Opportunities ,
Kansas ,
Pension Reform ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Public Employees ,
Public Pension ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Retirement Plan
California Senate Bill 253, the Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act, if passed, will require all companies that do business in California and report over $1 billion in annual revenue to report on the full range of their...more
3/7/2023
/ Air Pollution ,
California ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Health and Safety ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Public Health
On February 13, 2023, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) announced his support for what his office described as “comprehensive legislation to protect Floridians from the woke environmental, social, and corporate governance...more
3/2/2023
/ Business Strategies ,
Capital Investments ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Florida ,
Investment ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
State Legislatures ,
Sustainability
Attacks on “ESG investing” in the U.S. continues to intensify as additional Republican lawmakers take aim at financial institutions’ alleged “ESG agenda.” Citing an effort to “promote the depoliticization of our capital...more
On January 10, Isabel Schnabel, a member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank (ECB), gave a speech at an international symposium on central bank independence on monetary policy tightening and the green...more
2/17/2023
/ Carbon Emissions ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
European Central Bank ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment ,
Lending ,
Paris Agreement