California Climate Disclosure Laws – New Developments, Old Timelines - The California legislature recently rejected Governor Gavin Newsom’s proposal to delay the deadlines to comply with California’s climate disclosure...more
Last year, California passed three first-in-the-nation climate laws imposing disclosure obligations on thousands of companies with a presence in California. In October of 2023, California signed into law AB 1305, requiring...more
“Net zero” is a topic as hot as the climate these days. With so much regulatory attention being placed on it, companies that do not communicate their net zero efforts appropriately or, worse, intentionally make false and...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
In this week’s edition, we look at the climate-linked criminal lawsuit filed against a French oil major. We also review a survey conducted by Bloomberg Law that shows a majority of attorneys believe they will see only a...more
Welcome to the Corporate Briefing, where we review the latest developments in UK corporate law that you need to know about....more
Taxonomies will play a critical role in channelling investment towards sustainable activities. But while alignment between frameworks is critical , a one-size-fits-all approach can never be effective....more
California’s unprecedented AB 1305 law purports to target “greenwashing” by mandating public disclosures about virtually any claim of “significant” carbon reductions, but its broad wording and uncertain effective date raise...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
While California’s Climate Accountability Package has received much recent attention, another California climate disclosure bill targeting corporate greenwashing was also signed into law on October 7, 2023, and its...more
Much of the attention on California of late has focused on the passing of two climate-related disclosure laws; namely, the Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act (“CCDAA”) (SB 253) and the Climate-Related Financial Risk...more
The compliance deadline for the Voluntary Carbon Market Disclosures Act (VCMDA) is quickly approaching, but the statutory language of the VCMDA leaves open for interpretation several key issues, including threshold...more
California recently has passed three climate disclosure laws, with yet another still pending. These new laws are aimed at increasing transparency and consistency in climate-related disclosures, including greenhouse gas (GHG)...more
California Adopts Bill Regulating Net Zero, Carbon Offset Disclosures - On October 7, 2023, California adopted new requirements that will impact the voluntary carbon offset market and companies making certain emissions...more
On October 9, 2023, the Transition Plan Taskforce (TPT) published the Disclosure Framework providing good practice recommendations for companies to enable them to make “high quality, consistent and comparable transition plan...more
As businesses across the globe strive to fulfill carbon-neutral and net-zero promises over the coming decades, the voluntary carbon market has emerged as a necessary resource to help businesses bridge the gap to...more
On October 7, 2023, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law two expansive climate disclosure bills (SB 253 and SB 261), making California the first state in the U.S. to impose requirements on greenhouse gas (“GHG”)...more
The risk of an accusation of “greenwashing” is now an important concern for many companies. Greenwashing is an ill-defined concept but, nevertheless, is increasingly a source of litigation and regulatory scrutiny – with more...more
This week, Congressmen Jim Jordan (R-OH), Thomas Massie (R-KY), and Dan Bishop (R-NC), sent a letter on behalf of the House Committee on the Judiciary to three major asset managers and two non-profit organizations (the...more
On April 25, the UK All-Party Parliamentary Group on ESG (APPG) published a report on environmental, social and governance issues. All-Party Parliamentary Groups are informal groups of Members of the House of Commons and...more
The UK government (the “Government”) has long spoken of its commitment to tackling greenwashing and creating the world’s first net-zero emissions financial centre. Read more about this in our client alert on the “Green...more
Companies considered to be “major” or “significant” US federal government contractors soon may be required to provide climate disclosures as part of the Biden Administration’s suite of policies designed to achieve net-zero...more
The outcome of the review may signal what climate-related laws and policies to expect in the UK in the coming years. On 8 September 2022, newly appointed UK Prime Minister Liz Truss announced that Chris Skidmore MP, a...more
The public comment period for the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) proposed rules on climate-related disclosures (the “Proposal”) closed on June 17, 2022. The Proposal, which was released on March 21, 2022, would...more
The Claims Code seeks to ensure the integrity of voluntary carbon markets to support achievement of the Paris Agreement goals. The Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity (VCMI) Initiative is “a multi-stakeholder platform to...more