The rule, covering 218 organic chemical and polymer manufacturing plants, imposes stringent emission limits on six chemicals without exemptions for startup, shutdown, and malfunction. By Karl Karg, Phil Sandick, and Nate Gelfand-Toutant On April 9, 2024, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final rule amending the Clean Air Act New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) that apply to emissions from the Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturing Industry (SOCMI). The rule also finalizes amendments to the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) that apply t ..read more

For the first time, the Court has confirmed that the adverse impacts of climate change fall within the ambit of human rights protection under the European Convention of Human Rights, obliging States to implement effective mitigation measures. By Paul A. Davies, Sophie J. Lamb KC, Michael D. Green, James Bee, and Stephanie Forrest On 9 April 2024, the European Court of Human Rights delivered three Grand Chamber rulings in climate change-related cases. These three separate judgments are the latest in a number of climate litigation in recent years. While two of the cases were dismissed as inadmi ..read more

The Eighth Circuit is poised to determine the fate of the SEC’s final climate regulation, potentially by the end of the year. By Paul A. Davies, Sarah E. Fortt, and Betty M. Huber On March 21, 2024, the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit was selected as the court that will hear challenges against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) over its final climate disclosures rules, which were adopted on March 6.[i] On April 4, 2024, the SEC announced that it would voluntarily stay its final climate disclosure rules pending judicial review.[ii] The announcement comes on t ..read more

We analyze the key CEQA cases from 2023 and their impact on development in California. By Marc Campopiano, Jennifer Roy, Winston Stromberg, Kevin Homrighausen, and Natalie Rogers In 2023, the California Supreme Court and the Courts of Appeal issued 53 published and unpublished California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) opinions. As part of Latham’s annual CEQA webcast series, our Environment, Land & Resources lawyers reviewed each judicial opinion in 2023, highlighting key cases and their practical lessons, and identifying trends to watch in 2024. Watch a recording of the 2023 CEQA Year ..read more

The proposed regulation would ban forced labour-made products from the EU market, affecting companies’ supply chains and requiring compliance checks.  By Paul A. Davies, Michael D. Green, and James Bee On 5 March 2024, the European Parliament and European Council announced that they had reached a provisional political agreement on the regulation (Regulation) that aims to prohibit any product manufactured using forced labour from being placed on or exported from the EU market. The European Commission proposed the Regulation on 14 September 2022, building on the UN Sustainable Development ..read more

The court’s decision is the latest development in the litigation over the SEC’s final rules, which have faced numerous legal challenges since their adoption. By Paul A. Davies, Sarah E. Fortt, and Betty M. Huber On March 15, 2024, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit granted an administrative stay of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s recently finalized climate disclosure rules, in response to a March 8 request.[1] Petitioners had requested the stay in light of the “irreparable injury in the form of unrecoverable compliance costs and constitutional injuries” that they said woul ..read more

Following extended negotiations, the directive was endorsed with a significantly narrower scope that would reduce the number of companies affected. By Paul A. Davies, Michael D. Green, and James Bee On 15 March 2024, EU Member States endorsed the Belgian Presidency’s political deal on the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), despite Germany abstaining from the vote. The CSDDD would require companies to conduct due diligence to identify and assess environmental and human rights issues across their value chain, and to take steps to prevent and eliminate them. Timeline and B ..read more

The Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority and Singapore Exchange Regulation have provided details of mandatory climate reporting for listed issuers and large non-listed companies. By Paul A. Davies, Farhana Sharmeen, Michael D. Green, James Bee, and Kevin Mak On 28 February 2024, the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) and Singapore Exchange Regulation (SGX RegCo) introduced regulations for mandatory climate-related disclosures (CRD) (the Regulations). The Regulations will be introduced in a phased approach in line with the recommendations from the Sustainability Repo ..read more

The stock exchanges of Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Singapore have partnered to advance sustainability in ASEAN through the development of an interregional ESG ecosystem. By Paul A. Davies, Farhana Sharmeen, Michael D. Green, James Bee, and Kevin Mak On February 15, 2024, Bursa Malaysia Berhad (Bursa Malaysia), Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX), The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET), and Singapore Exchange (SGX Group) released a joint statement announcing their collaboration on the development of the ASEAN-Interconnected Sustainability Ecosystem (ASEAN-ISE). The ASEAN-ISE initiative was rat ..read more

The regulations aim to provide a legal framework for China’s carbon allowance trading market by strengthening requirements and designating responsibilities. By Hui Xu, Paul A. Davies, Jean-Philippe Brisson, and Qingyi Pan On January 25, 2024, Chinese Premier Li Qiang signed a decree of the State Council, introducing the Regulations on the Administration of Carbon Allowance Trading (the Regulations). Effective from May 1, 2024, the Regulations provide a legal framework for the operation of China’s emissions trading scheme (ETS), which initially commenced operations in July 2021 under ministry ..read more