Recent Highlights in Sustainability and ESG – A Brief Overview

The Impact and State of Climate Change in 2023

• According to a Reuters report, global CO2 emissions from fossil fuels are projected to reach an unprecedented peak in 2023.
• The New York Times highlights a dual narrative in its coverage on climate disasters. The US’s Fifth National Climate Assessment shows an increase in the cost and frequency of climate-related disasters, now averaging $150 billion annually with a major disaster every three weeks. On a brighter note, the US has successfully cut its emissions by 12% from 2005 to 2019.
• A record-breaking year for extreme weather events, including storms, heatwaves, and wildfires, underscores the escalating impact of global warming, as analyzed by climate experts.
• The Arctic experienced extraordinary warming in 2023, with temperatures soaring over 5°C above the 1991-2020 average, leading to amplified ice melt and forest fires, observations by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration indicate.

U.S. SEC Climate Disclosure Rules: Status Updates

With the speculated and highly anticipated final ruling deadline of October 2023 for the SEC Climate Disclosure Rule now come and gone, what can we expect now? Here are some recent updates to keep apprised of:

• SEC Chair Warns Lack of Climate Rule Exposes Thousands of U.S. Companies to EU Climate Reporting Requirements, ESG Today.
• SEC’s Climate Proposal Leads Rules Lined Up For 2024 Votes, Law360. A long awaited vote on the disclosure rules could happen in April.
• SEC Chair Gary Gensler recently testified before a US Chamber of Commerce hearing where he hinted that (1) Scope 3 could be included in the final version and stated (2) he did not have a definitive date for finalization.
• SEC Chair SEC Chair: Investors Want Supply Chain Emissions Reporting to Manage Transition Risk, ESG Today.
• SEC Climate Disclosure Rule Most Likely Not Final Until 2024, Effective 2026, Forbes.

California Climate Disclosure Rules

• While the SEC rule is still waiting to get over the line. California’s climate bills SB 253 and SB 261 are all systems go. If you still need to get up to speed with them and how they relate to the SEC climate disclosure rules, our very own Briefing Toolkit does a great job of breaking down what the bills mean.

COP28 Recap and Important Milestones

There is a decent amount of rhetoric floating around speculating on the effectiveness and nonmaterial impact of COP28, but it can be hard to parse out the reality of tangible accomplishments that took place in Dubai this year. Here we have provided several takeaways from this years COP:

Overall Takeaways on Climate Goals: the final COP28 agreement, agreed by almost 200 countries, for the first time included a goal to move away from fossil fuels.

• What can we do with a sentence? A thought piece by leading climate activist Bill McKibben explores the significance of one of the concluding remarks within the final global stockade that highlights “transitioning away from fossil fuels”.
• US and World Face Reckoning on COP28 Climate Goals, Kerry Says, Bloomberg.
• COP28 Agreement Signals “Beginning of the End” of the Fossil Fuel Era, United Nations.
• U.S. Climate Envoy Reflects on Recent Deal, and What Comes Next, New york Times.
• Two words that could change the world, New York Times.
• IEA assessment of the evolving pledges at COP28. “The IEA has now analysed what the impact would be on global energy-related greenhouse gas emissions if all the signatories of these pledges delivered on them in full. It shows that, while the pledges are positive steps forward in tackling the energy sector’s greenhouse gas emissions, they would not be nearly enough to move the world onto a path to reaching international climate targets, in particular the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 °C.”

Renewable and Nuclear Energy

• 22 Countries Pledge to Triple Nuclear Capacity in Push to Cut Fossil Fuels, NY Times.
• Countries promise clean energy boost at COP28 to push out fossil fuels, Reuters.

Methane Reduction

• The United States, People’s Republic of China, and United Arab Emirates today convened a Summit to accelerate actions to cut methane and other non-CO2 greenhouse gases as the fastest way to reduce near-term warming and keep a goal of limiting global average temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius within reach.
• Biden Administration Announces Rule to Cut Millions of Tons of Methane Emissions, NYTimes.

Voluntary Carbon Markets Are Scrutinized

• Global regulators propose tougher scrutiny of voluntary carbon markets, Reuters.

Reporting Standards Receive Support

• Leading investors commit to advancing global adoption of ISSB standards in COP28 highlights, Responsible Investor.

More Moves Towards Interoperability of Standards Globally

• The Financial Stability Board has announced that the work of the TCFD has been completed, with the ISSB’s Standards marking the ‘culmination of the work of the TCFD‘. Companies applying IFRS S1 General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information and IFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures will meet the TCFD recommendations as the recommendations are fully incorporated into the ISSB’s Standards.
• New EFRAG-GRI MoU Enhances Sustainability Reporting in Europe, ESG News. One of the outcomes of the new agreement for cooperation was an “Interoperability Index,” which maps how the data points of each disclosure standard relate to each other.
• The ISSB plans to release an adoption guide for national policymakers. The guides will set out different adoption pathways according to the needs of each country for both of the ISSB’s standards (S1 and S2).

Updates to New York Local Law 97

• The NYC Department of Buildings has just published the final version of its latest implementation rules for Local Law 97.
  Press release: https://ow.ly/sEat50QjVwb
  Rules: https://ow.ly/RT2s50QjVwa

Clean Energy Momentum Continues to Progress

• Could Biden’s Clean Energy Push Be a Victim of Its Success?, New York Times. US solar cell manufacturers have warned the Biden Administration to slow down on subsidies for solar manufacturing to ensure supply does not start outstripping demand, driving prices down.
• Biden Announces Over $6 Billion in New Climate Investments, ESG Today. “President Biden announced more than $6 billion in investments aimed at strengthening climate resilience in the U.S., targeting areas including the electric grid infrastructure, reducing flood risk, advancing drought resistance, and advancing community-level clean energy deployment and climate justice efforts.”

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