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Law and the Environment

Our blog provides perspective on developments in environmental law and policy - which developments may matter to you, and how and why they matter. Whether you are a manufacturer or a power plant developer, a renewable energy developer or hoping to be a renewable energy consumer, this blog offers commentary on current issues that are important to your business.

Anticipating the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's ESG Disclosure Rules and Guidelines: How to Stay Ahead of the Game
Blog August 21, 2023
Anticipating the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's ESG Disclosure Rules and Guidelines: How to Stay Ahead of the Game
As more advisory services, investment companies, and public companies have publicized their Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) goals, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has proposed a set of new rules intended to create a consistent, comparable, and reliable source of information regarding climate change impacts and sustainability efforts to inform and protect investors while facilitating further innovation in this evolving area. The SEC's proposed new rules have…
Accelerating Electric Vehicle Adoption in 2022
Blog January 24, 2023
Accelerating Electric Vehicle Adoption in 2022
This past year represents a real turning point in the transition to electric vehicles, demonstrated by new major incentives and regulatory activities at both federal and state government levels and several notable accomplishments in the private sector. First, the U.S. government approved EV Infrastructure Deployment Plans for all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico with an estimated $4.155 billion in funding going to states in the next five years to build out EV……
Finding the Path to a Necessary Future: CARB Chair Liane Randolph and ELI President Jordan Diamond Share Their Vision for California, Climate, and Energy in the Coming Decades
Blog May 18, 2022
Finding the Path to a Necessary Future: CARB Chair Liane Randolph and ELI President Jordan Diamond Share Their Vision for California, Climate, and Energy in the Coming Decades
Join the California Air Resources Board (CARB), Environmental Law Institute (ELI), Foley Hoag LLP, and Baker Botts LLP for an intimate discussion with CARB Chair Liane Randolph and ELI President Jordan Diamond, two leaders in the field of environmental law and policy.  Both are tackling significant and pressing environmental and public health challenges from different perspectives. Our moderator will lead a conversation about how these two women got to this distinguished point in their……
Three Takeaways from the SEC's New Proposed Rules on Climate Disclosures
Blog March 22, 2022
Three Takeaways from the SEC's New Proposed Rules on Climate Disclosures
Today, the Securities Exchange Commission voted 3 to 1 in favor of adopting a long-awaited set of proposed revisions to SEC regulations concerning the disclosure of climate risks and related financial impacts, as well as data on greenhouse gas emissions in certain SEC filings. The recommendation to adopt the new set of rules was not unanimous, with Commissioner Hester Peirce voting against the measure, arguing that the new set of rules is at best unnecessary…
AIG Integrates Climate Into Its Investment and Underwriting Decisions: It's Progress, But Is It Enough?
Blog March 07, 2022
AIG Integrates Climate Into Its Investment and Underwriting Decisions: It's Progress, But Is It Enough?
Last week, AIG significantly restricted its underwriting of and investment in fossil fuel projects.  Specifically, it announced the following actions: With immediate effect, committed to no longer invest in or provide insurance for construction of any new coal-fired power plants, thermal coal mines or oil sands; With immediate effect, committed to no longer invest in or underwrite new operation insurance risks of coal-fired power plants…
Shareholder Activism or Divestment? The Massachusetts Pension Fund Chooses Activism
Blog February 18, 2022
Shareholder Activism or Divestment? The Massachusetts Pension Fund Chooses Activism
The Boston Globe reported yesterday that the Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Management Board approved investment guidelines that would have the Board vote against directors of companies in which the Board invests where the company does not have a plan to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050.  As the Globe notes, there is something of a debate among climate activists whether it is better to support divestment or the kind of activism represented by the Board's action……
2021 Marked by SEC Focus on Climate-related Disclosures
Blog November 03, 2021
2021 Marked by SEC Focus on Climate-related Disclosures
With the third quarter coming to a close and year-end reporting just around the corner, public companies should be giving careful thought to the evolving landscape for climate-related disclosures. While it did not promulgate any new rules in 2021 regarding these disclosures, the SEC has been actively commenting on climate change disclosures, and new rules are almost certainly on the way. Since 2010, the SEC has made clear that its existing disclosure regime requires issuers to assess and…
Will More Money Managers Start Voting Shares Based on Climate Issues? Fidelity International Gets in the Game
Blog July 30, 2021
Will More Money Managers Start Voting Shares Based on Climate Issues? Fidelity International Gets in the Game
In the wake of Engine No.1's successful effort to elect more climate-friendly directors at Exxon and the increasingly aggressive action by BlackRock to take climate into account in its investment management decisions, the whole world is watching for further evidence of capitalism's efforts to save the world from, well, capitalism. The latest news is from Fidelity International (not to be confused with Fidelity Management and Research)…
Congress A Step Closer to Making Corporate ESG Disclosure Mandatory
Blog June 25, 2021
Congress A Step Closer to Making Corporate ESG Disclosure Mandatory
On June 16, 2021, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation that would impose new ESG due diligence and disclosure requirements on publicly traded companies.  H.R. 1187 – the ESG Disclosure Simplification Act of 2021 – would require publicly traded companies to disclose their commitments to ensuring that environmental, social (human rights), and good governance standards (ESG) are reflected in their operations, activities, and supply chains. The Legislation's Impact on ESG Due…
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Blog Editors

ABOUT

In today’s fast changing world, almost all of us get our news – including our news about developments in environmental law and policy – electronically. This blog is not intended to be a substitute for the BNA™, or Greenwire™, or Google™, although we do hope that we will be able on occasion to let you know about issues that haven’t yet come to your attention.

What we really want to accomplish is to be able to provide some perspective on those developments. We’ll try to tell you which developments may matter to you. And why they matter. And how they matter. Whether you are a manufacturer or a power plant developer, whether you are a renewable energy developer or hoping to be a renewable energy consumer, whether you are a municipality or public agency or university, we want to comment on current issues in a way that is useful to you in your business.

Frankly, this blog also provides us with the opportunity to introduce you to Foley Hoag’s Environmental Practice Group. Our practice has been New England’s preeminent environmental practice for the past twenty years. We have the depth and capacity to handle the wide array of environmental issues that can arise in the course of your business. We will work with you to resolve any environmental issues that must be addressed in order for you to achieve your business goals – from permitting new projects to cost-effective cleanup of urban Brownfields properties to implementation of cost-effective due diligence in the support of acquisitions to navigating the emerging world of climate change regulations.

We will also assist you in the defense and prosecution of environmental litigation. As a result of our service to our clients, we have attained a national reputation in environmental matters. Our lawyers have built an impressive record resolving environmental disputes at the negotiating table and in the courtroom, and a number of our cases have produced precedents of national importance.

The scope of this blog will be commensurate with the scope of our practice. We’ll cover climate change, renewable energy, hazardous and solid waste, clean air and water, sustainability and green design. You name it, if it’s got an acronym attached to it, we’ll cover it.

As the headline indicates, we want to inform, update, comment, and discuss. In other words, while we’re going to enjoy posting, we’ll enjoy the blog more – and its usefulness will increase – if we hear from you also. Please comment on the blog entries. Let us know about developments we missed or implications of our discussions that we did not consider.

We look forward to the conversation.

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Even the most diligent and conscientious company can end up as the target of an environmental complaint. Our environmental lawyers have built an impressive record resolving environmental disputes at the negotiating table and in the courtroom without hampering our clients’ business operations.
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