Many expected EU Commissioner Teresa Ribera, whose remit extends to enforcing competition law and implementing the goals of the European Green Deal, to be proactive in managing the coordination between competitors through...more
In recent weeks, EU regulators have issued several updates clearly indicating that, while the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) remains subject to review and likely substantial revision at the end of 2025,...more
7/18/2025
/ Asset Management ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Greenwashing ,
Investment Funds ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
SFDR ,
Sustainability
In 2018, the European Commission set forth a classification system to determine whether businesses are environmentally sustainable. The EU Taxonomy followed the legalistic style of the French Civil Code and flummoxed...more
4/17/2025
/ Climate Change ,
Environmental Policies ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Sustainability ,
Sustainable Finance ,
Taxonomy
In the first Omnibus packages, introduced on February 26, 2025, the European Commission (EC) has (among other proposals, which we have covered in detail here) proposed changes to streamline the Carbon Border Adjustment...more
4/10/2025
/ Carbon Emissions ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Imports ,
Popular ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) ,
Threshold Requirements
European Central Bank President Mario Draghi’s report The Future of European Competitiveness highlights the need for a regulatory environment that enhances Europe’s competitiveness and resilience. Similarly, the Budapest...more
The first EU Omnibus packages, introduced by the European Commission on February 26, 2025, consolidate proposals across multiple legislative areas, focusing on simplifying regulations in corporate sustainability reporting,...more
In the last 12 months, we have seen private debt markets take off over other strategies. In particular, there are now more creative ways of bringing in new types of investors to this asset class, including insurers, pension...more
3/5/2025
/ Alternative Investment Funds ,
Asset Management ,
Capital Markets ,
Debt Financing ,
EU ,
Financial Institutions ,
Insurance Industry ,
Investment ,
Investment Funds ,
Investors ,
Pensions ,
Private Equity ,
Private Funds
The briefing contains a mapping exercise and analysis of the approach taken by the European Supervisory Authorities and the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority to address risks or concerns relating to such greenwashing. The...more
1/30/2025
/ Climate Change ,
EIOPA ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Green Finance ,
Greenwashing ,
SFDR ,
Sustainability ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
On April 5th, 2019, environmental activist group Milieudefensie (Friends of the Earth) Netherlands and co-plaintiffs served Shell a court summons alleging Shell’s contributions to climate change violated its duty of care...more
1/9/2025
/ Appeals ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Human Rights ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Oil & Gas ,
Paris Agreement ,
Sustainability
Even for the unpredictable world of business and human rights, 2024 was particularly volatile, including for sustainability more generally. The European Union’s (EU) Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD)...more
12/10/2024
/ Africa ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
China ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Deregulation ,
Digital Services ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Human Rights ,
Human Trafficking ,
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) ,
Military Conflict ,
Plastics ,
Popular ,
Risk Assessment ,
Sustainability ,
Tribal Lands ,
Trump Administration ,
Ukraine ,
United Nations ,
Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA)
The imminent decision by the European Union to postpone for a year its complex and multi‑faceted sustainability law, the Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), is something of a surprise. The EUDR requires, among other things, due...more
Climate change disclosures have recently become mandatory in Japan, following amendments to the Financial Instruments Exchange Act (FIEA) and the Cabinet Office Order on Disclosure on Corporate Affairs. These require...more
10/25/2024
/ Climate Action Plan ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Disclosure ,
Due Diligence ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Financial Instruments and Exchange Act of Japan (FIEA) ,
IFRS ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
Japan ,
Popular ,
SFDR ,
Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) ,
Sustainability ,
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) ,
Taxonomy ,
UK
The EU Net Zero Industry Act (EU Regulation 2024/1735 - NZIA), which entered into force on 29 June 2024, aims to make investing into net-zero technologies in the EU simpler and more attractive by seeking to streamline project...more
In order to reach its “net-zero” goals, the European Union is continuing to build out a regulatory framework focused on scaling up the investment into the manufacturing and development of “net-zero technologies”. The latest...more
9/12/2024
/ Carbon Capture and Sequestration ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Clean Energy ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Geothermal Energy ,
Green Deal ,
Net Zero ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Sustainability
With calm being restored after the frenzied effort in the EU to pass the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), it may be time to evaluate the extent to which the law as adopted has met its original...more
Please see chart below for more information....more
3/21/2024
/ Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Form 10-K ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Popular ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sustainability ,
Sustainable Business Practices
The AIFMD contains numerous ongoing obligations that apply to sponsors and funds long after fundraising has completed. As part of our AIFMD refresher series, this article summarises one of the key AIFMD ongoing requirements...more
After months of discussion – and years of development – on December 14, 2023, the European Council and the Parliament reached a provisional agreement on the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (“CSDDD”). The...more