The government published a new document outlining its existing and proposed objectives to develop the UK’s sustainable economy. By Paul A. Davies, Michael D. Green, and James Bee On 30 March 2023, the UK government published an updated version of its Green Finance Strategy (the Strategy), titled “Mobilising Green Investment”. The Strategy is part of the UK government’s … Continue Reading
The UK government has unveiled a number of measures with the overall purpose of reaching net zero by 2050 and meeting the UK’s climate targets. By Paul A. Davies, Beatrice Lo, JP Sweny, Simon Tysoe, Michael D. Green, and James Bee On 30 March 2023, on what has been called the UK’s “green day”, the … Continue Reading
The UFLPA aims to clamp down on the import of items produced by alleged forced labor in and relating to the XUAR. By Erin Brown Jones, Les P. Carnegie, Paul A. Davies, Nathan H. Seltzer, James Bee, and Allison Hugi On 16 December 2021, the US Senate unanimously passed the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act … Continue Reading
Businesses must review the Green Claims Code and accompanying guidance to determine whether their environmental claims are in compliance. By David Little and Anuj Ghai Background: The need for a Green Claims Code The Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA’s) recent publication of the Green Claims Code (the Code) and its final guidance (the Guidance) in … Continue Reading
The strategy sets out plans to reduce emissions from key sectors of the UK economy to ensure that the UK remains on track for net zero by 2050. By Conrad Andersen, John Balsdon, David Berman, Paul A. Davies, Nicola Higgs, Sam Newhouse, Simon J. Tysoe, Michael D. Green, James Bee, and Anne Mainwaring On 19 … Continue Reading
By Paul A. Davies, Tom Evans, Nicola Higgs, Farah O’Brien, David Walker, Michael Green, Hannah Berdal, Anne Mainwaring, and Catherine Campbell Green shoots emerge as PE firms consider new ways to incorporate ESG into dealmaking. Market sentiment and the increasing importance of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) to firms’ competitiveness across the market, combined with … Continue Reading
The European Commission continues to explore how competition policy can support the bloc’s increased focus on sustainability and progression towards climate neutrality by 2050. By David Little and Anuj Ghai On 10 September 2021, Inge Bernaerts, Director of DG Competition, delivered a keynote speech at the 25th IBA Competition Conference on behalf of Executive Vice-President … Continue Reading
A class action by 202,600 claimants arising from the collapse of the Fundão dam in Brazil was struck out as abuse of process. By Sophie Lamb QC, Oliver Middleton, and Tom Watret Background In Município De Mariana & Ors v. BHP Group Plc & Anor (Rev 1),[1] the largest group action in English legal history … Continue Reading
The initiative includes a competition law sustainability “sandbox” in which market participants could team up to work on sustainable business projects. By David Little and Pierre Bichet The Greek Competition Authority (HCC) has announced a public consultation on how competition law rules might be adapted to promote more sustainable business practices. The HCC published a … Continue Reading
Policy makers and regulators seem keen to adopt both a “carrot” and “stick” approach to channelling private finance sustainably. Financial services regulators have been particularly vocal in the last 12 months, specifically about the impact on the financial services sector as the world experiences, and attempts to respond to, climate change. Mark Carney, outgoing governor … Continue Reading
The revised Code is likely to encourage a more robust and substantive review of ESG issues by institutional investors. By Paul A. Davies and Michael Green Background The UK Stewardship Code (the Code) was originally published in 2010 following a review of corporate governance. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has responsibility for the Code, and … Continue Reading
By Paul Davies, Richard Butterwick, Terry Charalambous, and Catherine Campbell In recent years, China has taken significant steps in developing its environmental policy. In 2014, China’s Premier Li Keqiang declared a “war on pollution”, which began in earnest in 2017. Since then, regulators have been more proactive in enforcing environmental regulations. Factory closures have become a … Continue Reading
By Paul Davies and Catherine Campbell In recent years, China has taken significant steps in developing its environmental policy. In 2014 China’s Premier Li Keqiang declared a “war on pollution”, which began in earnest in 2017. Since then, regulators have been more proactive in enforcing environmental regulations. Factory closures have become a key part of … Continue Reading
Landmark ruling requires the European Commission to disclose impact assessments used as a basis for its legislative decision-making process. By Antonio Morales and Rosa Espín The Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice of the European Union recently issued a landmark judgment finding that impact assessments should be considered public documents. This decision sets a … Continue Reading
By Beatrice Lo and Heeran Caselton The Expert Finance Working Group on Small Nuclear Reactors (EFWG), an independent group convened in January 2018 by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, recently published its report with recommendations for a market framework to enable the development of small nuclear projects in the UK with private … Continue Reading
By Beatrice Lo and Heeran Caselton The UK government recently published its Nuclear Sector Deal (Sector Deal) as part of the UK’s modern industrial strategy. Recognising the sector’s strategic importance in delivering future energy security, the Sector Deal reconfirmed the government’s commitment to upgrading the UK’s nuclear infrastructure and support for new build nuclear projects. … Continue Reading
Companies should conduct thorough due diligence in light of closer scrutiny from stakeholders and governmental and non-governmental bodies. By James Inness and Natasha Hamilton-Foyn Companies are facing increasing pressure to report on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) matters in terms of their legal obligations, stakeholder pressure, and reputational issues. Companies are subject to both mandatory … Continue Reading
By Aaron Franklin The United States has the deepest, most liquid capital markets in the world, attracting issuers from across the globe. To sell to US investors, these issuers must comply with US securities laws, entailing a more rigorous diligence and disclosure process. Issuers must weigh the benefits of increased demand against the additional costs, … Continue Reading
By Paul Davies, Bridget Reineking, and Andrew Westgate China, the world’s largest producer and consumer of pesticides, is strengthening its regulation of agrochemicals. The Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) recently issued revisions to the country’s pesticide registration requirements, which officially came into effect on November 1, 2017. Pesticide use in China accounts for over one-third of … Continue Reading
By Paul Davies and Michael Green The Environmental Liability Directive (ELD) aims to prevent, remedy and/or compensate for environmental damage. ELD seeks to achieve this through the “polluter pays principle”, ensuring businesses are held legally and financially accountable for environmental degradation that results from their operations. However, Member States have varied considerably in implementing ELD, … Continue Reading
By Paul Davies, Bridget Reineking, and Andrew Westgate The Chinese government has announced a US$4 trillion investment in developing infrastructure globally under the “Belt and Road Initiative” (BRI). Under the BRI the Chinese government will spend US$750 billion on overseas investments in the next five years alone. Although China often cites the BRI as the … Continue Reading
By Paul Davies, Bridget Reineking, and Andrew Westgate Since establishing the People’s Bank of China’s Green Finance Task Force in 2014, China has encouraged green financing mechanisms through a variety of pioneering initiatives. For example, the country has designated five green finance pilot zones, within which financial institutions are incentivised to provide credit and special … Continue Reading
By Paul Davies, Bridget Reineking, and Andrew Westgate President Xi has announced the creation of a new environmental bureau to oversee China’s state-owned natural resources. Establishment of the new bureau is one of the most notable outcomes of the recent meeting of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party, and follows Xi’s pronouncement that … Continue Reading
By Paul Davies and Michael Green In August 2015, the French government amended the French Energy Transition Law to include provisions rendering “planned obsolescence” a misdemeanour. In the latest wording of the provisions, article L.441-2 of the Consumer Protection Code (Code de la consommation) defines planned obsolescence as “… resorting to techniques whereby the entity … Continue Reading
