Developers and municipalities must continue to evaluate potential wildfire impacts on projects under CEQA and consider recent legislative changes.
By Marc T. Campopiano and Shivaun A. Cooney
Wildfires have posed increasing risks in recent years to the public and environment in California. The importance of understanding how wildfires may impact new development and infrastructure is more relevant than ever. Under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), developers and agencies are prompted to evaluate wildfire impacts.
Latham & Watkins recently hosted an in-depth webcast to help clients understand new wildfire guidelines and the subsequent implications on development. Topics covered include:
- CEQA Guidelines and Appendix G questions
- How EIRs have applied wildfire guidelines
- Climate change, air quality, and power shutdowns in response to wildfire risk
- Recent court cases involving wildfires
- Recent wildfire legislation
Watch a recording of Wildfire Implications on California Development: CEQA, Legislation, and More, and contact Latham with any questions you might have about these issues.
In a sweeping reversal of Trump-era policies, the US Department of Labor (DOL) has 
The global asset management community has long been among the leaders in recognising the investment and risk management benefits of tracking the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance of the assets it invests in. This pressure from the asset management community has driven companies to make better disclosures in relation to ESG criteria. Concurrently, global regulator are recognising the important role of financial institutions in helping to achieve crucial ESG outcomes by introducing new regulations that place direct obligations on asset managers to produce both
By 
On August 26, 2021, the Singapore Exchange Regulation (SGX RegCo) released a consultation paper proposing amendments to the sustainability reporting (SR) regime of the Singapore Exchange (SGX). The proposed changes would require Singapore-listed issuers to move toward including in their sustainability reports climate-related disclosures that are consistent with the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD Recommendations).
On 17 August 2021, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) published the UK’s first 
On August 6, 2021, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted to approve Nasdaq’s proposed changes to its listing rules (the Board Diversity Objective), which seek to encourage board diversity for companies listed on the exchange and provide stakeholders with consistent, comparable disclosures concerning a company’s board composition.
Nearly four years after China’s national emissions trading scheme (ETS) was announced in late 2017, trading of emissions quotas officially commenced on July 16. The start of trading represents a significant step in China’s adoption of market-based mechanisms for addressing climate change, while also signifying a major opportunity for businesses able to achieve meaningful reductions.
On 28 July 2021, the Loan Market Association (LMA) and European Leveraged Finance Association (ELFA) published a best practice guide (the Guide) to Sustainability Linked Leveraged Loans (SLLLs). The Guide provides practical guidance for market participants on the application of the Sustainability Linked Loan Principles (SLLPs) to leveraged loans, particularly loans made at portfolio company level. ELFA and the LMA deemed the Guide necessary given the increasing prevalence of sustainability linked financings in the leveraged loan market.
On 26 July 2021, the Board of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) published a 