On April 28, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced an action against Brazilian mining company, Vale S.A., in relation to an environmental and social catastrophe: the collapse of its Brumadinho dam in...more
Today marks the 52nd Earth Day celebration, initially commenced in 1970 as citizens around the nation, and the world, gathered to demand stronger protection for the environment: cleaner water, air and land. As in 1970, the...more
4/25/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Risk Factors ,
Risk Management ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Yesterday, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) proposed groundbreaking rules intended to enhance and standardize climate-related disclosure requirements for public companies. The SEC’s climate...more
3/23/2022
/ Annual Reports ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Foreign Private Issuers ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulation S-K ,
Regulation S-X ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Yesterday the Supreme Court stayed the Occupational Health and Safety Administration’s (OSHA) vaccination and testing emergency temporary standard (ETS), resolving months of legal uncertainty over its fate. In blocking the...more
Upon taking office in January, the Biden Administration immediately prioritized climate change and environmental justice, fulfilling President Biden’s campaign promise. In the past two weeks, President Biden reiterated those...more
11/16/2021
/ Clean Air Act ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
IFRS ,
Infrastructure ,
International Standards ,
Methane ,
Paris Agreement
On November 5th, 2021, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued an emergency regulation that assigns US employers a central role in the Biden Administration’s COVID-19 pandemic response. Several...more
11/9/2021
/ Appeals ,
Biden Administration ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Comment Period ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Covered Employer ,
Employer Mandates ,
Motion for Relief ,
OSHA ,
Permanent Injunctions ,
Preemption ,
Public Comment ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Stays ,
Temporary Regulations ,
Tenth Amendment ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing
On September 24, pursuant to President Biden’s September 9 Executive Order, the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force published its anticipated guidance regarding the vaccination mandate and COVID-19 safety requirements for...more
10/1/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Certification Requirements ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Covered Employer ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Masks ,
OSHA ,
Safety Precautions ,
Social Distancing ,
Subcontractors ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
The Biden Administration’s “whole of government” approach to advancing environmental justice (EJ) continues apace, with agencies and courts pursuing focused enforcement and environmental review strategies that could affect...more
9/20/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
CalEPA ,
Enforcement Authority ,
Environmental Impact Statements ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
FERC ,
Memorandum of Understanding ,
NEPA ,
US Army Corps of Engineers
A new study by the U.S. Department of Energy supports a dramatic expansion in solar energy development, finding that solar energy could comprise as much as 40 percent of U.S. electricity supply within the next 15 years. The...more
9/14/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Clean Energy ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Electricity ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Justice ,
FERC ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Renewable Energy ,
Research and Development ,
Solar Energy ,
Tax Credits ,
Transmission Planning
In response to one of the worst outbreaks in the COVID-19 pandemic, attributable largely to the highly contagious Delta variant, President Biden on September 9 announced his six-prong Path Out of the Pandemic plan. To...more
9/13/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
OSHA ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
Interest in US offshore wind development is at an all-time high, as the Biden Administration and lawmakers continue to create renewable energy project incentives and opportunities, shareholders demand action from companies to...more
8/16/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
BOEM ,
Clean Energy ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Energy Projects ,
Energy Sector ,
Federal Funding ,
FERC ,
Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) ,
Infrastructure ,
Infrastructure Financing ,
Memorandum of Understanding ,
Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) ,
NEPA ,
Offshore Wind ,
Operational Permits ,
Renewable Energy ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Wind Power
In the face of criticism for its recently proposed standards about mask wearing and social distancing, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (“Cal/OSHA”) has now announced revised amendments to its...more
On May 20, President Biden issued his Executive Order on Climate-Related Financial Risk (“Order”) which requires federal agencies to assess the potential impacts of climate change on public and private financial institutions...more
In an extended Earth Day event, President Biden hosted the virtual Leaders Summit on Climate (“Summit”) on April 22 and 23, seeking to unite nations around the world in the goal of reducing global greenhouse gas (“GHG”)...more
4/28/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Brazil ,
Canada ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Clean Air Act ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
FSOC ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Infrastructure ,
Japan ,
Proposed Legislation ,
U.S. Treasury ,
UK
As part of his comprehensive climate change agenda, President Biden convened a task force to assess the social cost of greenhouse gases. At the end of February, the task force published an interim report estimating the “cost”...more
3/24/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Carbon Taxes ,
Climate Change ,
Cost-Benefit Analysis ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Obama Administration ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Trump Administration
Upon taking office, President Joe Biden convened a task force to assess the social cost of greenhouse gases, as part of his comprehensive climate change agenda. At the end of February, the task force published an interim...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced in recent weeks multiple efforts to highlight climate change in corporate disclosures and to increase scrutiny and, potentially, enforcement focus on company disclosure...more
3/16/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Form 10-K ,
Form 10-Q ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulation S-K ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On January 29, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued updated guidance aimed at helping employers implement COVID-19 Prevention Programs to better identify workplace risks that could lead to...more
2/3/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Executive Orders ,
Infectious Diseases ,
New Guidance ,
OSHA ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Safety
Fulfilling one of his central campaign promises, President Biden signed a wide-ranging Executive Order last week addressing climate change through energy, infrastructure, national security, foreign affairs, and social justice...more
2/2/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Clean Air Act ,
Climate Change ,
Domestic Policy ,
Environmental Policies ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Agency Taskforce ,
Foreign Policy ,
Fossil Fuel ,
Infrastructure ,
Paris Agreement ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Renewable Energy
On January 21, 2021, President Biden issued an Executive Order on Protecting Worker Health and Safety (Order) directing the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to take “swift action to reduce the risk that...more
Over the weekend, major news outlets announced that former Vice President Joe Biden will be the next president of the United States. Biden and his running mate, Vice Predident-elect Kamala Harris, pledged throughout the...more
11/10/2020
/ Biden Administration ,
Bureau of Land Management ,
Clean Energy ,
Clean Power Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Deregulation ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Green Infrastructure ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Infrastructure ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Methane ,
Paris Agreement ,
Presidential Elections ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Sustainable Projects ,
Trump Administration
Wildfire season is upon the American West, with fires blazing in California, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Oregon, and Washington. With a somewhat delayed onset this year, wildfire season came roaring in with a...more
On July 15, the Trump Administration issued a long-anticipated overhaul of the regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”) - the first substantive amendment to the regulations since the 1970s. The...more
On May 7, 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom announced in a press conference that the state was moving into Stage 2 of a four-stage plan for reopening California that he had put forth only last week. He characterized this transition...more
Six weeks ago, California issued the nation’s first statewide shelter-in-place order in response to the growing COVID-19 pandemic. Although nearly every other state eventually followed suit in taking significant measures to...more