3 On July 28, 2025, the Republican Attorney-General of Florida announced that his office had “issued subpoenas to investigate whether the CDP (formerly the Climate Disclosure Project) and the Science Based Targets Initiative...more
On July 23, 2025, there was a notable development in the legal proceeding (currently pending in the Eighth Circuit) challenging the validity of the SEC's mandatory climate disclosure law. By way of background, in April...more
The Missouri Attorney-General, Republican Andrew Bailey, recently announced an investigation into the two principal proxy advisory firms for potential violations of Missouri law “related to their promotion of radical...more
It has been publicly reported that the European Central Bank is planning to impose financial penalties (albeit modest ones) on certain banks that have failed to adequately prepare for climate change. Specifically, the...more
Last week, the California Air Resources Board ("CARB")--the agency responsible for implementing California's mandatory climate disclosures--issued additional guidance concerning these regulations. Significantly, although...more
7/16/2025
/ California ,
CARB ,
Climate Change ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement ,
Financial Institutions ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
New Guidance ,
Penalties ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements
The Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) recently made certain announcements that reflect the current administration’s reduced emphasis on climate-related financial regulation. First, the SEC withdrew a proposed rulemaking...more
On June 20, 2025, the EU Commission announced that, following pressure from conservative lawmakers, it would withdraw new legislation targeting greenwashing. Specifically, the Green Claims Directive--which would compel...more
On June 17, the SEC officially withdrew a proposed rulemaking undertaken by the Biden Administration that sought to combat greenwashing in ESG (or similarly labeled funds). Specifically, the proposed rule would have...more
Last Friday, on June 20, the SEC withdrew guidance--dating from the George W. Bush administration--that indicated that “disclosure of environmental actions brought by a foreign government” was “require[d].” In effect, the...more
6/25/2025
/ Climate Change ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Trump Administration
Recently, the Canadian Competition Bureau published updated guidelines concerning its approach to environmental claims following last year's amendments to Canadian law that specifically targeted greenwashing. These...more
6/18/2025
/ Advertising ,
Canada ,
Competition ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Claims ,
False Advertising ,
Greenwashing ,
Misleading Statements ,
New Regulations ,
Regulatory Requirements
Recently, Fitch Ratings issued a discussion paper that outlined a “contemplated framework for the analysis of physical climate risk for [Structured Finance] and [Covered Bonds] for the potential negative implications of...more
6/11/2025
/ Bonds ,
Climate Change ,
Credit Ratings ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Insurance Industry ,
Mortgages ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Management
In the first Trump Administration, the Securities and Exchange Commission promulgated certain rules that had the effect of erecting barriers to activist investors seeking to have shareholder proposals--often involving topics...more
Recently, the Canadian Securities Administrators (the umbrella organization of Canada's provincial securities regulators) announced that it would pause the development of certain sustainability reporting initiatives,...more
Last week, a long-running lawsuit brought against a major German energy company by a Peruvian farmer for alleged damages stemming from climate change was dismissed by an appellate court in Germany. The court's reasoning...more
On May 22, 2025, the New York Court of Appeals--the highest court in New York State--unanimously upheld New York City's Local Law 97 against a challenge brought by certain property owners. This law--Local Law 97--is “aimed...more
It has been reported that the Federal Reserve has disbanded certain internal groups that were intended to develop “institutional capacity and knowledge” with respect to climate risk. Specifically, among the groups that have...more
On May 29, 2025, the California Air Resources Board delivered a presentation that provided additional details concerning the soon-to-be implemented mandatory climate disclosures. Perhaps most significantly, the California...more
The SEC’s mandatory climate disclosure rule remains stayed pending the outcome of the current litigation in the Eighth Circuit. Recently, however, Republican SEC Commissioner Mark Uyeda suggested that the Trump administration...more
3 Under the Biden Administration, the Department of Labor ("DOL") had issued a rule that permitted ESG factors to be considered when making investments on behalf of 401(k) plans. (This rule had replaced an earlier one from...more
6/2/2025
/ 401k ,
Biden Administration ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Agencies ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Retirement Plan ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Trump Administration
Last week, the Trump Administration's FTC and DOJ (Antitrust Division) filed a statement of interest in support of a lawsuit filed last November by eleven Republican state attorneys-general against three major asset managers...more
Earlier this year, each of the major US banks announced their withdrawal from the Net Zero Banking Alliance. This move, which was likely undertaken in response to the policy priorities of the Trump Administration, was...more
A local state court in Pennsylvania recently dismissed an array of climate tort claims brought against major fossil fuel companies by a local government--in this case, Bucks County. Among the three dozen or so climate tort...more
SEC Commissioner Uyeda, one of the Republican appointees to the Securities & Exchange Commission, recently stated (in remarks at the 2025 “SEC Speaks” Conference) that the SEC should not rescind the climate disclosure rule...more
On May 12, 2025, in a 5-2 decision, the Colorado Supreme Court held that the tort claims brought by local governments in Colorado against major fossil fuel companies concerning damages stemming from climate change could...more
Federal Regulation On April 8, 2025, President Trump issued an executive order that sought to target actions undertaken by individual US states to combat climate change, for the stated purpose of ensuring “American energy...more