The Commission issued its formal consultation on the ESRS with a number of proposed changes.

By Paul A. Davies, Michael D. Green, and James Bee

On 9 June 2023, the European Commission (Commission) issued its formal consultation on the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). The ESRS represent the detailed standards which set out the disclosure requirements for companies required to report on sustainability-related impacts, risks, and opportunities under the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD).

The revised ESRS that the Commission is consulting on have been changed in notable ways from the draft set of the ESRS submitted in November 2022 by EFRAG, the technical expert group tasked with helping the Commission develop the ESRS.

Last week, the EPA Clean Air Science Advisory Committee provided EPA its review of EPA’s Policy Assessment for the Reconsideration of the National Ambient Air Quality Standard for ozone.  As expected, CASAC has disagreed with the recommendation of EPA technical staff to retain the current 70 ppb standard.  Instead, CASAC recommends a significantly lower ozone…

An evolving landscape of reforms in the ESG ratings sector continues to pose challenges to providers of ratings and scores.

By Paul A. Davies, Nicola Higgs, Rob Moulton, Michael D. Green, Becky Critchley, Anne Mainwaring, and Charlotte Collins

International momentum to regulate ESG ratings continues as the European Commission released a consultation on 13 June 2023 to create a new regulatory regime for ESG ratings providers. This consultation follows a Call for Evidence that the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) issued on 4 April 2022.

In a published opinion filed June 7, 2023, the Fifth District Court of Appeal held the trial court erred in applying California’s interrelated factors test to deny a preliminary injunction in a CEQA case.  The error consisted of failing to consider harm to the public interests in informed decisionmaking and public disclosure as relevant informational harm to be weighed in evaluating the relative balance of harms likely to result from the erroneous granting or denial of the preliminary injunction.  Tulare Lake Canal Company v. Stratford Public Utility District (Sandridge Partners, L.P., et al, Real Parties in Interest) (2023) 92 Cal.App.5th 380. Accordingly, the Court of Appeal reversed the order denying the preliminary injunction and remanded the matter to the trial court for reconsideration, while keeping in effect its writ of supersedeas continuing the trial court’s TRO in full force and effect.

By A. Scott Hecker, Adam R. Young, Patrick D. Joyce, Benjamin D. Briggs, and Craig B. Simonsen

Seyfarth Synopsis: A Small Business Advocacy Review Panel for a potential OSHA standard to address Prevention of Workplace Violence in the Healthcare and Social Assistance sectors concluded on May 1, 2023. The Final…

Trialogue negotiations have begun following the parliament’s vote.

By Paul A. Davies, Michael D. Green, and James Bee

On 1 June 2023, the European Parliament voted to adopt its initial negotiating position on the EU’s proposed Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD).

If adopted, the CSDDD would apply to large EU and non-EU businesses with significant net turnover in the EU. It would impose requirements to identify, prevent, end, or mitigate the negative impact of activities on human rights and the environment. CSDDD is still in the trialogue stage, whereby the three core branches of the EU negotiate the final content of legislation. Hence, the specific details of the CSDDD continue to evolve as they are negotiated by the EU’s political institutions. Further, as a directive that would need to be transposed into the domestic law of each EU Member State and given the key role for national regulators under the proposals, the CSDDD’s exact scope and impact will depend on the results of the negotiations and its implementation in each of the EU’s jurisdictions.

EnergyFinanceDevelopment_Hero

On June 14, 2023, the IRS released proposed regulations and additional guidance describing rules for applicable taxpayers to benefit from investments in renewable energy projects through a direct payment of the tax credit amount or by transferring (i.e., selling) the tax credit to an unrelated taxpayer in exchange for cash.

Taxpayers seeking direct payment or…

On May 25, 2023, after more than 15 years of fighting, a couple contesting the Environmental Protection Agency’s assertion of jurisdiction over their residential lot as “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) under the Clean Water Act (CWA) scored a decisive victory in a U.S. Supreme Court decision, Sackett v. EPA. Chantell and Mike…

Governor Gavin Newsom announced proposed major new infrastructure permitting reforms on May 19, 2023 in an effort to create thousands of jobs and build California’s clean energy future. The eleven-bill package seeks to expedite certain water, transportation, clean energy, semiconductor, and microelectronics projects, including water recycling and desalination plants, solar fields, offshore wind farms, the Sites Reservoir Project in the Sacramento Valley, and the plan to build a tunnel to transport water to Southern California beneath the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta (the Delta Conveyance Project). A Senate budget committee found the package was too complex for last-minute consideration before the June 2 cutoff for bills to pass out of their house, but there is still some hope that the plan could move forward.