The court argued that the German government’s 2014 decision on climate protection goals for 2020 was not legally binding.
By Jörn Kassow
On 31 October 2019, the Administrative Court of Berlin dismissed a climate lawsuit brought by German citizens against the government. The plaintiffs had alleged that the government was violating their rights by missing certain climate protection targets.
In 2014, the German government adopted its climate protection goals for 2020, which aimed at a reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 40% (compared to 1990). However, the government now estimates that Germany will only be able to reduce emissions by 32%. Furthermore, Germany will probably not achieve the 14% reduction of GHGs which are not covered by the European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), as required under the so-called Effort Sharing Decision, without credits from emission-reduction projects in third countries. Continue Reading
On 2 November 2019, the UK government announced further details on two initiatives focused on helping the UK reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The first of these measures, HM Treasury’s Net Zero Review (Review), will consider how the UK should fund efforts to meet its net zero target. The second measure, the proposed Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (IETF), aims to help energy-intensive industries reduce their carbon emissions. New details surrounding the proposed measures signal how both the Review and the IETF will impact the UK’s transition to net zero. 
On October 18, 2019, the EU, China, India, and five other countries combined to launch the International Platform on Sustainable Finance (IPSF). Acknowledging the role that private capital has to play in scaling up sustainable investment worldwide, the IPSF seeks to provide a platform to increase private-sector funding in this area. This blog post will consider in more detail the IPSF’s aims, as well as the ways in which the IPSF intends to achieve them. 
On 15 October 2019, the UK government published the final draft of Environment Bill 2019–20 (the Bill), which aims to set out the government’s environmental priorities post-Brexit. The Bill covers a broad range of topics ― from air quality to England’s future environmental governance — and gives a legal footing to several policy commitments that the government has made in recent years. This blog post will consider the Bill’s content, and the potential impact that the Bill may have on environmental regulation in England. 
On September 20, 2019, the US House Financial Services Committee passed H.R. 4329, the ESG Disclosure Simplification Act of 2019. The bill formed part of a suite of bills addressing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosures that were the subject of hearings in the House Financial Services Committee in July, as discussed in 
On 30 September 2019, the EU Technical Expert Group on Sustainable Finance (TEG) published its final report on climate benchmarks and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosures (the Report), as well as a summary of the Report. The Report makes recommendations regarding the minimum technical requirements for the methodology that pertains to two new climate benchmarks. The Report also makes recommendations for suggested ESG disclosures on a wide range of benchmarks. This post will examine the TEG recommendations and their implications for the future of these climate benchmarks.
Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues are playing an increasing role in the global leveraged finance market. As a result, borrowers who wish to access this market should consider paying closer attention to their ESG performance. The European Leveraged Finance Association (ELFA) has called for a coordinated approach to ESG disclosure among companies that wish to access leveraged loans, with the aim to help potential investors analyse ESG issues in a more consistent and uniform manner.
On 22 September 2019, the United Nations and a group of 130 banks from 49 countries launched the UN Principles for Responsible Banking (PRB) to provide an international framework for a sustainable banking system, and allow signatories to demonstrate their commitment to achieving the goals expressed in the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Climate Agreement.