In Brief: EU parliament rubber-stamps CSDDD; US imposes strict rules on carbon pollution from power plants
The latest ESG policy and regulatory news
The European parliament has given its final approval to a wide range of sustainability-related legislation that is part of the European Green Deal, including the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive. It backed environmental exemptions for farmers, which would see sustainability measures reduced under the Common Agricultural Policy. The parliament also approved the Net-Zero industry Act to stimulate clean tech manufacturing in the EU and to make it less dependent on foreign supplies. The European Council still needs to approve the legislation. You can find coverage of this week’s votes here and here.
The commission, meanwhile, has issued guiding principles for the “essential use” of harmful chemicals. The announcement is intended to provide predictability for industry and investors on the manufacturing of products that are “indispensable” for the green and digital transition, as well as health and defence.
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights has held its first of three hearings on an advisory opinion on climate change and human rights. The advisory opinion was requested by Colombia and Chile, which asked the court to set out the legal responsibilities states have to tackle climate change in accordance with human rights. The hearing in Barbados will be followed by two others in the Brazilian cities of Brasília and Manaus in May.
Meanwhile, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea will deliver its advisory opinion on climate change on May 21. The request was made by island nations, which want the court to decide which legal duties the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea imposes on signatory states to protect the marine environment from the impacts of climate change.
The International Sustainability Standards Board has announced it will start researching biodiversity and human capital disclosures as part of its remit, but will not start work on human rights disclosures.
The Financial Conduct Authority has confirmed its anti-greenwashing guidance and launched a consultation on extending its sustainability framework. You can find an overview of the latest news here.
The UK government has set a 10 per cent target for sustainable aviation fuel, pending parliamentary approval, through its “sustainable aviation fuel mandate”. By 2030, a 10th of all jet fuel in flights taking off from the UK must come from sustainable sources. The government has also launched a consultation on a “SAF revenue certainty scheme”, which would guarantee revenue from SAF and provide producers and investors with confidence and certainty, it claims.
The US Environmental Protection Agency has announced several rules to reduce pollution from fossil fuel power plants. One of the rules is a requirement for existing coal-fired and new natural gas-fired power plants to capture 90 per cent of their carbon pollution.
The US Department of Energy will require federal buildings to achieve a 90 per cent reduction in fossil fuel use for new construction or renovation projects starting between 2025 and 2029 and eliminate onsite fossil fuel usage in new projects starting from 2030.
The US has lobbied the Science Based Targets initiative to include carbon credits as a way to abate Scope 3 emissions, according to the Financial Times. The SBTi has faced a significant pushback against the measure, including from its own workforce. In response, its chief executive, Luiz Amaral, issued a public letter.
The White House has announced its first set of job listings under the American Climate Corps, which aims to train a workforce to fight the impacts of climate change. Approximately 2,000 climate-related job positions are being advertised.