Last Thursday, five Republican senators--Cotton (AR), Grassley (IA), Rubio (FL), Lee (UT), and Blackburn (TN)--sent an identical letter to approximately fifty (50) major U.S. law firms, in which they stated that law firms...more
Earlier this month, the SEC issued an FAQ concerning "an adviser's fiduciary duty when considering factors relating to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the selection or recommendation of other investment advisers."...more
It has been publicly reported that the SEC is considering dropping “Scope 3” GHG emissions from the mandatory climate disclosures that were proposed last March. Such a development--a major change to the key policy initiative...more
Regulatory Developments Among State AGs. Over the past few weeks, various state attorneys general have either issued guidance or initiated enforcement actions in connection with ESG ratings. Specifically, among other things,...more
Last Friday, the SEC re-opened the comment period on its climate disclosures rule--"The Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors"--for a period of "14 days following publication of the...more
Today's edition of the New York Times featured an opinion piece that critiqued ESG investing--and not from the perspective that "values" investing is economically counter-productive. (For that viewpoint, the editorial page...more
In remarks delivered today to the SEC Investor Advisory Committee, SEC Commissioner Pierce--one of the Republican appointees to the Commission--offered a critique of the proposed SEC rule re: "greenwashing," which is the...more
Today, SEC Chairman Gensler testified before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. His remarks were wide-ranging, and touched upon a number of different SEC priorities--but Chairman Gensler made sure...more
During the Senate Judiciary Committee's hearing on the nomination of Delaware Supreme Court Justice Montgomery-Reeves to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, certain Republican Senators, including Grassley (R-Iowa) and Lee...more
Recently, both the Louisiana Attorney-General and the Indiana Attorney-General issued legal guidance that the consideration of ESG factors by investment firms likely would, in the absence of full disclosure, violate the...more
Nineteen state attorneys-general have announced their participation in an investigation spearheaded by Missouri Attorney-General Eric Schmitt into the ESG ratings produced by Morningstar Inc. and its subsidiary,...more
Climate Change Tort Litigation -
Beginning in 2017, an array of state and local governments have pursued claims against major fossil fuel producers — particularly the major oil companies (Chevron, Exxon, BP, Shell, and...more
Recently, the SEC issued its five-year strategic plan for public comment. This strategic plan covers a wide variety of topics, ranging from adapting to new technology to plans for increasing internal SEC workforce...more
8/31/2022
/ Climate Change ,
Comment Period ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Investors ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Public Comment ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Strategic Planning
On August 24, 2022, the Texas Comptroller published a list of ten financial companies (only one of which is U.S.-based) and approximately three hundred and fifty funds that, pursuant to Texas law, all state governmental...more
In June 2022, the Supreme Court issued its decision in West Virginia v. EPA, which held that, under the “major questions doctrine,” the EPA lacked the authority under the Clean Air Act to devise emissions caps based on the...more
8/10/2022
/ Clean Air Act ,
Energy Sector ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Greenwashing ,
Investment ,
National Emissions Standards ,
SCOTUS ,
Sustainability ,
West Virginia v EPA
The New York Times has reported that the State Financial Officers Association has "push[ed] Republican state treasurers, who are mostly elected officials and who are responsible for managing their state's finances, to use...more
Last week, the two Republican Commissioners of the SEC availed themselves of the opportunity presented by the ability to comment on the Financial Accounting Foundation's Strategic Plan Draft for Public Comment to again voice...more
Yesterday, the state treasurer of West Virginia formally barred his state from conducting business with five major financial institutions because, according to him, "[e]ach financial institution . . . has published written...more
On July 20, 2022 the SEC issued a press release concerning the resolution of an administrative proceeding in which the defendants "violated certain antifraud and reporting provisions of the federal securities laws and []...more
Earlier this week, President Biden delivered a speech identifying certain executive actions he planned to undertake in order to advance his agenda of combatting climate change. These included: (1) "$2.3 billion to help...more
7/25/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
CFTC ,
Clean Energy ,
Climate Change ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Policies ,
Executive Orders ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
West Virginia v EPA
The European Parliament has now "endorsed labeling some gas and nuclear energy projects as 'green.'" This designation will now enable these energy projects to have "access to hundreds of billions of euros in cheap loans and...more
The Supreme Court, in West Virginia v. EPA, effectively limited the ability of the EPA to issue significant regulations designed to address climate change absent further Congressional action. And any Congressional...more
On June 22, 2022, in response to the SEC's release of its regulatory agenda , Republican SEC Commissioner Hester M. Peirce vigorously objected to the policies and regulatory goals announced by the Biden Administration's SEC. ...more
The West Virginia State Treasurer, Wiley Moore--a Republican--recently threatened six major financial institutions with a boycott on doing business with West Virginia government entities. This move by the West Virginia state...more
On June 2, 2022, the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) issued a Request for Information ("RFI") for "public comment on climate-related financial risk to better inform its understanding and oversight of...more