According to the owners of Sospiro Goat Ranch, a small family goat farm in North Carolina, as reported on their blog, “the Facts About the Attack On Our Farm,” dated 7/4/2018, “vegan terrorists” trespassed onto their farm and stole two kids (baby goats)—one in 2017 and another, Freddie, in 2018—claiming that the kids
CARB Previews Future Changes to California Low Carbon Fuel Standard
On December 7, 2021, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) held a public workshop to preview potential changes to the groundbreaking California Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) program, which has served as a model for other low carbon fuel programs across the country. CARB is accepting written public comments on the concepts presented in the
CASAC Signals that a Lower PM2.5 NAAQS Is On the Way; It Can’t Come Too Soon
The momentum continues to build for a more stringent National Ambient Air Quality Standard for PM2.5. In June, EPA announced it would revisit the Trump Administration’s decision to keep the PM2.5 NAAQS at 12 ug/m3. In early October, EPA staff released a supplement to its assessment of the PM2.5 NAAQS. That supplement also supported a
Just Transition: The World Benchmarking Alliance Publishes Its ‘Just Transition Assessment’
During the COP26 summit, a coalition of 190 countries and organisations committed to phase out coal energy by 2040 as part of their commitment to transition to a low-carbon economy. The coalition also stated, in their ‘Global Coal To Clean Power Transition Statement’, that they would provide a framework to support affected workers,
Hong Kong Regulator Issues Sustainable Investing Principles for Pension Fund Trustees
On November 26, 2021, Hong Kong’s Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority (MPFA) advanced the Special Administrative Region’s sustainable finance strategy with new Principles for Adopting Sustainable Investing in the Investment and Risk Management Processes of MPF Funds (the Principles). The Principles lay out a high-level ESG integration framework for trustees of Mandatory Provident Funds (MPF),
Equitable Apportionment of Interstate Waters Sinks to New Levels
In a landmark ruling signaling a new lens with which to view the treatment of interstate water allocation, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision on November 22 in Mississippi v. Tennessee, et al., 595 U.S. ___ (Case No. 21o143) rejecting Mississippi’s claim to sole ownership of waters of the Middle Claiborne Aquifer within that
The Future of Plastics Has Been Bright; Can We Keep It That Way?
It has now been more than 50 years since the iconic moment in The Graduate where Mr. Maguire tells Ben that “there’s a great future in plastics.” Truer words have never been spoken. The release this week of “Reckoning with the U.S. Role in Global Ocean Plastic Waste” by the National Academies of
ESG & Sustainability Reporting Developments: Climate Disclosure Prototypes
ESG and sustainability disclosure and reporting requirements for listed and non-listed companies are rapidly taking shape. As announced at COP26, there is now an International Sustainability Standards Board (“ISSB”) tasked with encouraging global uptake of ESG reporting standards. In the EU, the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (“EFRAG”) is the body tasked with developing mandatory
Agricultural Law Weekly Review – Week Ending November 26, 2021
Ag-Gag Statutes: Kansas Files for Supreme Court Review of its ‘Ag-Gag’ LawOn November 17, 2021, Kansas Governor Laura Kelly and Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt filed a petition for writ of certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court seeking review of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit’s August 2021 decision that: (1) portions
Regional US Transportation & Climate Initiative Program Comes to an End
A multistate cap-and-invest program to reduce carbon emissions from the transportation sector is dead after several participating states pulled out.
By Jean-Philippe Brisson, Joshua T. Bledsoe, Benjamin Einhouse, and Brian McCall
Less than one year ago, the governors of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, as well as the mayor of the District