Is My Company Required to Comply with the Paris Agreement?
Nota Bene Episode 33: Congressional Check-In for Q2: Paris Agreement, Presidential Nominees, and Privacy with Elizabeth Frazee
On 23 July 2025, the International Court of Justice (the “ICJ”), the highest judicial body of the United Nations, issued its long anticipated Advisory Opinion on climate change (the “Advisory Opinion”). ...more
The climate debate has whipsawed in recent years. Businesses frequently have been caught in the middle, with stakeholders including government regulators, activist investors, consumers, non-governmental organizations, and...more
In a unanimous decision on July 23, 2025, the fifteen judges on the United Nations’ International Court of Justice (“ICJ”), also known as the “World Court,” concluded that the production and consumption of fossil fuels “may...more
The International Court of Justice ("ICJ") stated that States have legal obligations to regulate emissions and may be held internationally responsible for climate inaction—including the failure to effectively regulate...more
On 2 July 2025, the European Commission introduced its 2040 climate target of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 90% compared to 1990 levels. One of the key features of this strategy is the possibility to introduce...more
Science-based targets (SBTs) rely on scientific facts to achieve specific conditions or outcomes. SBTs reflect the best available science and set goals intended to prevent human activities from harming the environment....more
Trading in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and reductions has long been touted as a way of leveraging market forces to tackle climate change in the most cost-effective manner, and 2025 may put that theory to the test amid...more
The Withdrawal - The United States’ Acting Ambassador to the United Nations (U.N.) submitted a notification of withdrawal from the Paris Agreement on January 27, 2025, which is set to become effective one year after...more
US exits Paris Agreement after submitting Nationally Determined Contributions. In mid-December, the Biden Administration announced it submitted the US target under the Paris Agreement: cutting net carbon emissions by 61 to 66...more
On January 20, US President Trump issued an executive order, “Putting America First in International Environmental Agreements,” withdrawing the United States from the Paris Agreement and other climate-related financial...more
Citing potential economic damage and unfair burdens, President Trump signed an Executive Order that starts the process of withdrawing the United States from the Paris Agreement. The Paris Agreement is an international...more
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
The 29th Session of the UN Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP-29) concluded on November 22, and COP-30 is now in sight. In this Legal Update, we discuss some of the key results of...more
The 29th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ('UNFCCC') ('COP29') adopted decisions on Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. After nearly a decade of negotiations, the outcome of...more
The previous annual finance goal (the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCGC)) of $100 billion expires this year. However, wealthy countries only met the pledge in full starting in 2022. Negotiation teams are working on draft...more
Day three of the 29th Annual United Nations Climate Change Conference COP29 saw the end of the first part of the high-level segment for heads of state and other global leaders in Baku as well as the announcement of...more
Day two of the 29th Annual United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) saw the US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate make its first post-election statements in Baku....more
In an effort to advance a global carbon market, the parties to COP 29 — the United Nations climate conference hosted by Azerbaijan this year — approved important standards for such a market to be developed under Article 6.4...more
A second Trump administration is expected to prioritize “energy dominance,” focusing on expanding oil and gas, reducing regulations, and increasing drilling, especially with Republican-led committees in Congress likely...more
The 29th Conference of the Parties (“COP29”) of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (“UNFCC”) is set to take place in Baku, Azerbaijan, from 11 to 22 November 2024. This is the first in a series of posts BCLP’s...more
The 29th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ('COP29') may offer opportunities for key stakeholders to foster international cooperation on using market-based cooperative...more
The Bonn Climate Change Conference saw limited progress resolving open issues related to Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, which aims to incentivize international cooperation in mitigating climate change through carbon credit...more
The “rulebook” for the technical and operational aspects of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, which facilitates countries engaging in projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and selling the associated carbon credits to...more
On April 1, 2024, the new Output-Based Pricing System (OBPS) will come into force under the Budget Measures Implementation Act, 2023 (Budget 2023). The OBPS is a new British Columbia (BC) emissions pricing system (although...more
The first global stocktake, Article 6, carbon markets, new finance pledges, and the loss and damage fund formed the major developments at this year’s conference. Between November 30 and December 12, 2023, Dubai hosted the...more