On 12 September 2023, Brazil´s Attorney General Office, representing the Brazilian Federal Environmental Agency, filed a climate litigation lawsuit against a livestock farmer, seeking compensation for the deforestation of the Amazon Forest between 2003 and 2016.
This blog post provides a brief overview on this new lawsuit, which further strengthens a new trend for climate litigation in Brazil.
Two new bills have been passed in California as part of a “Climate Accountability Package” that require U.S.-based companies “doing business”[1] in California to make disclosures about their emissions and climate-related financial risks. These are (a) the Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act (California Senate Bill 253 (SB-253)) and (b) the Climate-Related Financial Risk Act (California Senate Bill 261 (SB-261)). The laws remain subject to approval by the California Governor (who has until October 14, 2023, to sign or veto them).
To assist companies in preparing for these new climate-related disclosure requirements, we have provided a summary of some of the key requirements below.
Companies are increasingly recognising that climate risk poses “strategic and operational risk” that could severely impact business operations. On 3 August 2023, United Nations Global Compact released Just Transition in Supply Chains: A Business Brief (the “Brief”). At the heart of the Brief is a call for businesses to embed the concept of ‘just transition’ into supply chain risk management, taking into account both the environmental and social impacts of their supply chains. There is real concern that as companies increase their climate mitigation and adaptation activities, such actions may have unintended consequences that negatively affect workers, small businesses and local communities that drive global supply chains. On the other hand, integrating climate and social risks into a business’ core business and risk management could be “mutually reinforcing” and could “deliver valuable co-benefits”.
Continue Reading UN Global Compact Publishes Business Brief on Just Transition in Supply Chains
On 24 August 2023, through Decree No. 11,666/2023, the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer was enacted in Brazil (the “Amendment“). It was at MOP 28 (Meeting of the Parties) of the Montreal Protocol, in 2016, in the city of Kigali, Rwanda, that the Parties agreed to include HFCs among the substances controlled by the international regime. Hydrofluorocarbons (“HFCs“) have been used as alternatives to chlorofluorocarbons, mainly in the refrigerant market.
The risk of an accusation of “greenwashing” is now an important concern for many companies. Greenwashing is an ill-defined concept but, nevertheless, is increasingly a source of litigation and regulatory scrutiny – with more of both expected. It carries with it reputational, regulatory and litigation risks for which companies should be prepared. Whilst the risks are always context specific – varying by jurisdiction, industry
Climate-related litigation is increasingly being used as a tool to hold private and public sector actors to account over their contributions to climate change. According to the Grantham Institute’s 2023 Global Trends in Climate Change Litigation Policy Report (the “Report“) – which was published on 29 June 2023 – around two-thirds of climate-related cases have been filed since 2015: between 1986 and 2014, approximately 800 cases were filed, but between 2015 and May 2023, approximately 1,557 cases were filed.
Although the majority of the climate-related cases identified in the Report were brought against regional and national governments, the Report identified an increase in the number of climate-related cases brought against private sector actors. Of the 190 climate-related cases identified in the Report as being filed between June 2022 and May 2023, around 46% were filed against an increasingly diverse pool of private sector actors. This reflects the growing recognition by prospective litigants of litigation as an effective means of influencing the actions private sector actors are taking to address climate change. We discuss the trends identified in the Report in this blog post.
On 26 June 2023, the International Sustainability Standards Board (“ISSB”) issued its long-awaited inaugural global sustainability disclosure standards: IFRS S1 (General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information) and IFRS S2 (Climate-related Disclosures) (together, the “Standards”). The ISSB also released a related Sustainability Standards Navigator tool and a three-minute video. The
On June 22, 2023, the International Capital Markets Association (ICMA) issued its first update of its Climate Transition Finance Handbook (CTFH) since its original publication in December 20201 and an updated version of its Sustainability-Linked Bond Principles (SLBPs).
In its related press release, ICMA states that the updated CTFH:
[I]ntegrates the progress made
On June 5th 2023, World Environmental Day, the Brazilian Government published five decrees seeking to strengthen national efforts towards the decarbonization of the economy and tackling climate change:
The National Credit Union Administration (“NCUA”) has requested comment (the “RFI”) on how climate and natural disaster risks may affect federally insured credit unions, their members, and the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund. The RFI indicates that the NCUA may use the results of the RFI to develop regulatory and