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According to the Grantham Institute’s 2024 Global Trends in Climate Change Litigation Policy Report (the “Report“) – which was published on 27 June 2024 – climate-related litigation against private sector actors continues to be on the rise. The Report highlights that over 230 climate-related lawsuits have been initiated against corporations and trade associations since 2015, with over two thirds of those lawsuits filed since 2020. The Report also highlights that the growth rate of climate-related cases is showing signs of stabilisation, at over 200 new climate-related cases per year. The risk of private sector actors facing climate-related lawsuits is not, therefore, showing any signs of diminishing.Continue Reading CLIMATE LITIGATION – THE GRANTHAM RESEARCH INSTITUTE ON CLIMATE CHANGE AND THE ENVIRONMENT PUBLISHES ITS 2024 GLOBAL TRENDS IN CLIMATE LITIGATION REPORT

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Deforestation is now the second leading cause of climate change globally, after burning fossil fuels, and is responsible for around 11% of all greenhouse gas emissions.  In the last 60 years more than half of tropical forests worldwide have been destroyed, reducing biodiversity and endangering rare species (see Fifth Special Report of Session – 2023-24:  …

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Towfiqu barbhuiya, Unsplash

On 3 June 2024, the Asia Pacific Loan Market Association (“APLMA”) published its set of “Model Provisions for Green Loans” (“Model Provisions”), following the publication of the “Draft Provisions for Sustainability-Linked Loans” by the London-based Loan Market Association (“LMA”) a year earlier in May 2023. The markets expect that the Model Provisions will bring some clarity into the classification of green loans going forward.Continue Reading APLMA publishes Model Provisions for Green Loans

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On 16 May 2024, the UK Government published an implementation update on its development of economy-wide sustainability disclosure requirements (the “Implementation Update“). The Implementation Update, which the UK Government committed to publishing in its 2023 Green Finance Strategy (which you can read more about here), discusses:

  1. its endorsement of the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards;
  2. transition plan disclosures;
  3. the Financial Conduct Authority’s (“FCA“) Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (“SDR“) and investment labels regime;
  4. the UK Green Taxonomy; and
  5. nature-related disclosures.

Continue Reading UK government publishes implementation update in relation to sustainability disclosures

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In a survey carried out by HSBC in 2023, 97% of real estate developers and investors said net zero was important to their business and 59% of the largest real estate companies said net zero was their top priority.

A third of companies in the sector already have Transition Plans and the push for formalising Transition Plans across the sector is increasing.

In April 2024, the Transition Plan Taskforce (“TPT”) published its final set of transition plan resources to help businesses transition to net zero.

In this article, we consider the guidance available to the real estate sector in preparing Transition Plans (“TP”).Continue Reading Transition Plans & Real Estate

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On 23 April 2024, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA“) published its “Finalised non‑handbook guidance on the Anti‑Greenwashing Rule (FG/24/3)” (the “Guidance“). The FCA has published the Guidance to help in-scope firms understand and comply with the anti-greenwashing rule, which will come into effect on 31 May 2024.Continue Reading UK Financial Conduct Authority publishes finalised guidance on its Anti-Greenwashing rule

The UK Government launched a Consultation on the introduction of a UK CBAM on 21 March 2024.  The Consultation closes on 13 June 2024.  This follows the announcement, in December 2023, that the UK would implement a UK CBAM similar to the EU CBAM which came into effect on 1 October 2023.

In this update…