Today, the Treasury Department and other federal agencies (including the Agriculture Department and Energy Department) issued a joint statement identifying seven principles that should be applied in the voluntary carbon...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
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
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
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
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
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
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 -
On September 20, 2023, the SEC approved amendments to the “Names Rule,” which had initially been proposed in May 2022. This rule requires investment funds to “adopt a policy to invest at...more
11/3/2023
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Climate Change ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Investment Company Act of 1940 ,
Investment Funds ,
Sustainability
The Mintz Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Working Group developed this ESG primer to provide an overview of the current state of affairs in the United States with respect to the ESG issues that businesses...more
10/30/2023
/ Affirmative Action ,
Antiboycott Requirements ,
Boycotts ,
CFTC ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Enforcement ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Fossil Fuel ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Greenwashing ,
Net Zero ,
New Regulations ,
Rulemaking Process ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholders ,
State and Local Government ,
Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard College ,
Students for Fair Admissions v University of North Carolina
On October 7, 2023, Governor Gavin Newsom of California signed into law two climate disclosure bills passed by the California Legislature. These laws now require that "by January 1, 2025 . . . businesses with total annual...more
Yesterday, September 26, 2023, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), along with six other Democratic Senators and eighteen Democratic Congressmen, sent a letter to SEC Chairman Gensler concerning the SEC's proposed climate...more
Earlier this month, Governor Newsom announced his support of a sweeping climate bill enacted by the California legislature that would compel major companies operating in California to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions. ...more
On September 12, 2023, SEC Chairman Gensler testified before the Senate concerning a number of significant issues for the SEC. Among them was the SEC's still-pending rule on climate risk disclosures, which was first proposed...more
Public media reports have stated that the SEC’s Enforcement Division has been “sen[ding] document requests, including subpoenas” to asset managers in connection with ESG marketing. Apparently, these actions by the SEC’s...more
Today, a state court judge in Montana issued a long-awaited ruling in which the court found that the "Plaintiffs have a fundamental constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment, which includes climate as part of...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
It has been publicly reported that the Biden Administration's EPA will shortly "announce limits on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants that could compel them to capture the pollution from their smokestacks." In...more
4/25/2023
/ Biden Administration ,
Carbon Capture and Sequestration ,
Clean Energy ,
Climate Change ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Natural Gas ,
Power Plants ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Renewable Energy ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
State and Local ESG Regulation.
Despite recent public statements by notable Republican federal officials, including an SEC Commissioner, that have expressed considerable skepticism towards the SEC’s proposed ESG...more
Regulatory Developments -
During the past several weeks, there have been a couple of notable developments in connection with the SEC’s proposed climate disclosures rule, “The Enhancement and Standardization of...more
Recent developments in the Court of Chancery concerning a corporate board’s duty to monitor and provide oversight over a corporation’s operations, so-called Caremark claims, are likely to intersect with the Securities and...more
12/19/2022
/ Caremark claim ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
DE Supreme Court ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Discovery ,
Duty to Monitor ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Proposed Rules ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Last week, SEC Commissioner Peirce delivered a lengthy speech at the American Enterprise Institute, in which she extensively criticized the climate disclosure rules proposed by the SEC. Her critique deliberately extended...more