President Xi Jinping promises to reduce carbon emissions in speech before the UN General Assembly. By Paul A. Davies, Michael D. Green, R. Andrew Westgate, and Jacqueline J. Yap On 22 September 2020, during a speech before the UN General Assembly, President Xi Jinping announced China’s commitment to become carbon neutral by 2060 and reaffirmed … Continue Reading
The UK citizens’ assembly identifies overarching principles and makes specific recommendations for achieving the environmental goal. By Paul A. Davies and Michael D. Green Background The Climate Assembly UK has published its report on how the UK can achieve its statutory target for net zero carbon emissions by 2050. The report, which was released on … Continue Reading
The Governor has issued an Executive Order with sweeping implications for the oil and gas industry and others. By Jean-Philippe Brisson, Joshua T. Bledsoe, Nikki Buffa, and Brian F. McCall On September 23, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Executive Order N-79-20, which will have sweeping implications for the oil and gas industry, automakers, low-carbon … Continue Reading
The European Commission President delivers her first state of the union address, covering a number of issues, in particular a number of ESG matters. By Paul A. Davies and Michael D. Green On 16 September 2020, Ursula von der Leyen, delivered her first state of the union address since taking over the presidency of the … Continue Reading
Proposed regulation will require companies to substantiate their environmental footprint claims, seeking to ensure green claims are more reliable. By Paul A. Davies and Michael D. Green Background On 27 August 2020, the European Commission (the Commission) launched a public consultation on a possible proposal on substantiating green claims about products or services. This follows … Continue Reading
New guidance contains clarifications from the European Commission and seeks to lessen trade barriers following the Brexit transition period. By Paul A. Davies and Michael D. Green The UK’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has published updated guidance on meeting climate change requirements after the Brexit transition period ends on 1 January … Continue Reading
Two initiatives seek to standardise approaches to carbon accounting and provide a blueprint for investors to help achieve net zero global emissions by 2050. By Paul A. Davies and Michael D. Green On 3 August 2020, the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF), a global collaboration of 70 financial institutions with total financial assets of … Continue Reading
The pioneering case seeks an injunction to restrain the government from further promoting exchange-traded bonds until it complies with its duty of disclosure. By Paul A. Davies and Michael D. Green On 22 July 2020, investors filed a class-action claim against the Australian government, alleging that it failed to disclose material climate change risks relating … Continue Reading
The government provides further details on UK carbon pricing after Brexit. By Paul A. Davies and Michael D. Green On 14 July 2020, the UK government published the draft Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme Order 2020 (the Order), establishing a framework for the potential UK Emissions Trading System (UK ETS). Subsequently, on 21 July 2020, … Continue Reading
By Paul A. Davies and Michael D. Green As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to cause economic disruption, the UK government (government) has established five working groups tasked with discussing and evaluating economic recovery measures. The groups will focus on five key themes, including “Green recovery: how to capture economic growth opportunities from the shift to … Continue Reading
The proposals outline the potential new UK system after Brexit, which could be linked to the EU Emissions Trading System. By Paul Davies and Michael Green On 1 June 2020, the UK’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) published proposals outlining a new UK-wide Emissions Trading System (UK ETS) contained within a response … Continue Reading
Governments are under pressure to ensure that any financing used to assist the economic recovery from COVID-19 embeds climate change policy. By Paul A. Davies and Michael D. Green The economic impact of COVID-19 has required unprecedented state intervention and support for companies and individuals in countries around the world. Now, certain climate policy advisors … Continue Reading
The EU Commission aims to enshrine into law the 2050 climate-neutrality target and has taken further steps to establish a unified EU “green” classification system. By Paul A. Davies, Michael D. Green, and Federica Rizzo The European Green Deal, presented on 11 December 2019, provides a roadmap with actions aimed at boosting the efficient use of resources and the … Continue Reading
The Action Plan is part of the European Green Deal promoting actions to boost the efficient use of resources by moving to a cleaner and more competitive Europe. By Paul A. Davies, Michael D. Green and Federica Rizzo On 11 March 2020, the European Commission published its Communication to the European Parliament, the Council, the European … Continue Reading
The Airports National Policy Statement is ruled illegal as a result of government failure to take account of its Paris Agreement commitments. By Paul A. Davies and Michael D. Green In R (Plan B Earth and Others) v. Secretary of State for Transport and others, the Court of Appeal in England (the Court) heard an … Continue Reading
Policy makers and regulators seem keen to adopt both a “carrot” and “stick” approach to channelling private finance sustainably. Financial services regulators have been particularly vocal in the last 12 months, specifically about the impact on the financial services sector as the world experiences, and attempts to respond to, climate change. Mark Carney, outgoing governor … Continue Reading
Governments as well as investors and companies will continue to actively address environmental, social, and governance issues this year. By Paul A. Davies, James R. Barrett, Michael D. Green, Aaron E. Franklin, and Kristina S. Wyatt Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) was more prominent than ever in 2019, as issues such as climate change and … Continue Reading
Non-governmental organizations release new studies and reports on new developments in carbon capture, usage, and storage technology. By Jean-Philippe Brisson, Christopher G. Cross, Paul J. Hunt, Eli M. Katz, Joshua T. Bledsoe, Benjamin W. Einhouse, and Taylor R. West At the 25th annual Conference of Parties (COP 25) United Nations Climate Summit, held in December … Continue Reading
The final text of Principle 5 requires a consultation process between the client and the indigenous community. By James R. Barrett, Paul A. Davies, and Michael D. Green On 18 November 2019, the Equator Principles Association (EP Association) adopted the most recent iteration of the Equator Principles (EPs), the fourth version of the EPs that … Continue Reading
Analysing whether the new Green Deal policies will help the EU achieve climate neutrality. By Paul A. Davies and Michael D. Green On 11 December 2019, the European Commission adopted the European Green Deal (Green Deal), initially proposed earlier in the year by the Commission’s President Ursula von der Leyen. The Commission also presented a … Continue Reading
The announcements signal how both the Net Zero Review and the IETF will impact the UK’s transition to net zero. By Paul Davies and Michael Green 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 … Continue Reading
Bank of England Governor identifies three areas of improvement in creating a sustainable finance system. By Paul A. Davies and Michael D. Green On September 24, 2019, the Bank of England (BoE) published two speeches given by its governor, Mark Carney, in which he calls for climate change-related risks and resilience to be brought into the heart of … Continue Reading
Proposed revisions to the Equator Principles 3 include human rights, social risk, and climate change. By James Barrett, Paul A. Davies, Joel H. Mack, and Michael D. Green The Equator Principles Association (EP Association) recently released the draft text of the Equator Principles (EPs) version 4 (EP4). The EP Association intend the draft text to … Continue Reading
Banks to disclose climate alignment of shipping portfolios with IMO’s strategy of 50% emissions reduction by 2050. By Paul A. Davies and Michael D. Green On June 18, 2019, a group of 11 banks — including Citi, Societe Generale, DNB, Citigroup, ABN Amro, and ING — announced the adoption of the Poseidon Principles (PPs). The … Continue Reading
