The trustees of the IFRS Foundation have published a consultation paper to assess demand for global sustainability standards. By Paul A. Davies and Michael D. Green On 30 September 2020, the International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation (the Foundation), a not-for-profit organisation that develops global accounting standards, launched a consultation paper seeking to assess demand for global ESG standards. The paper seeks to assess whether the Foundation should expand its current remit of developing financial reporting…

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 Staff Discussion Paper and held a digital conference to launch the consultation. The HCC’s exploratory proposals outline a number of…

Companies and their attorneys risk monetary penalties and DOJ enforcement if they fail to ensure that toxic tort and personal injury plaintiffs reimburse Medicare. By Christine Rolph, Taiga Takahashi, and Holly Bainbridge The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed numerous enforcement actions against defendant companies and law firms based on an alleged failure to reimburse the government for its share of personal injury and toxic tort settlements, pursuant to the Medicare Secondary…

President Xi Jinping promises to reduce carbon emissions in speech before the UN General Assembly. By Paul A. Davies, Michael D. Green, R. Andrew Westgate, and Jacqueline J. Yap On 22 September 2020, during a speech before the UN General Assembly, President Xi Jinping announced China’s commitment to become carbon neutral by 2060 and reaffirmed China’s commitment under the Paris Agreement to peak its carbon emissions by 2030. China is the world’s…

The paper articulates common reporting metrics for sustainable value creation for companies reporting on ESG performance. By Paul A. Davies, Paul M. Dudek, Ryan J. Maierson, and Kristina S. Wyatt On September 22, 2020, the International Business Council (IBC) of the World Economic Forum (WEF), in collaboration with Deloitte, EY, KPMG, and PwC, published a white paper, Measuring Stakeholder Capitalism: Towards Common Metrics and Consistent Reporting of Sustainable Value Creation (the Report),…

The Commission’s 2030 Climate Target Plan sets out required actions for a number of sectors. By Paul A. Davies and Michael D. Green On 17 September 2020, the European Commission (Commission) presented its 2030 Climate Target Plan, which calls for a greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction target of at least 55%, compared to 1990 levels; sets out required actions for a number of sectors; and identifies key changes to be made to existing legislation. To…

The UK citizens’ assembly identifies overarching principles and makes specific recommendations for achieving the environmental goal. By Paul A. Davies and Michael D. Green Background The Climate Assembly UK has published its report on how the UK can achieve its statutory target for net zero carbon emissions by 2050. The report, which was released on 10 September 2020, followed more than a month of weekend meetings (some of which took place remotely due to the…