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
Oil and Gas Leasing: DOI Cancels Oil and Gas Leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
On September 6, 2023, the U.S. Department of the Interior announced it is cancelling oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) that were originally issued in a 2021 lease sale. See “Notice of 2021 Coastal
Conservation Programs: Federal Court Vacates USDA Decision Not Listing Eastern Hellbender Under Endangered Species Act
On September 5, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York issued an opinion vacating and remanding the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Fish and Wildlife Service’s (FWS) April 2019 proposed rule, which declared unnecessary
California on the bleeding edge of climate disclosure
The so-called “Skittles Ban” is no more, but earlier this week the California legislature passed a novel bill that would ban four food additives from grocery store shelves starting in 2027. Governor Newsom has until October 14 to sign or veto the legislation.
It would mark the first time a state has banned food items
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’
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
In Lucas v. City of Pomona (2023) 92 Cal.App.5th 508, the Second District of the Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court’s decision that the City of Pomona’s (“City”) application of the statutory exemption under CEQA Guidelines section 15183 was proper for approval of a zoning overlay district for commercial cannabis activities (the “Project”). Applying
On September 8, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers published a final rule in the Federal Register to amend the Agencies’ January 2023 “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) definition. 88 Fed. Reg. 61,964 (Sep. 8, 2023). According to the Agencies, these amendments conform that definition to the Supreme
LNG Infrastructure: The Department of Transportation Suspends LNG Rail Transportation
On September 1, 2023, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) published a rule in the Federal Register suspending a previously published final rule that allowed for the transportation of liquified natural gas (LNG) by rail cars. The PHSMA’s