Green Deal Continues: Nature Restoration Law Approved

After the rightward turn in Europe’s elections last week, few people thought that the EU would continue its streak of leadership sustainability policies. In a surprise move, the environment ministers approved a landmark nature restoration law this week. This ambitious policy aims to restore 20% of EU land and sea by 2030.

Environmental campaigners had pressured EU ministers to pass the bill to fulfill their signing of the UN biodiversity treaty in Montreal in 2022, but it seemed doomed after multiple countries made last-minute withdrawals of support back in March.?

In a dramatic turn this week, Slovakia and an apparent “rogue minister” from Austria changed their position, providing the votes for approval. The Austrian environment minister Leonore Gewessler said, “In 20 or 30 years, when I will talk to my two nieces and show them the beauty of our country and of this continent, and they ask me: ‘What did you do when everything was at stake?’ I want to be able to tell them: ‘I tried to support as much as I could.’"

Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer was furious, filing a complaint with the EU Court of Justice and sending a letter to Belgium, which holds the current EU rotating presidency, seeking to annul the vote. He claimed his environment minister's vote was 'unlawful' and did not reflect the will of the Austrian people. However, the Belgian government confirmed that Gewessler’s vote was binding, and the law had passed.

EU Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevi?ius said, “The time for political and ideological discussion is over... Now, let’s get on with the job.” The bill will require member states to protect pollinators, plant more than 3 billion trees, and restore key ecosystems.?

Green Deal Back on the Table

In another sign that the EU's Green Deal may still have life, the European Council agreed on a series of proposals aimed at protecting consumers from greenwashing. These proposals set requirements for companies to substantiate and verify claims and labels regarding the environmental attributes of products and services.?

Also, there is a chance that Ursula Von Der Leyen could form a coalition with the Green party to secure a second term in the upcoming EU presidential elections. The alternative is that she aligns with the far right to get into power, which former Greens President Philippe Lamberts said would be “the end of the Green Deal, period,” but that remains unlikely.

SEC Court Case Kicks Off

The SEC’s Climate Rule began the next chapter of its long saga last Friday with the kickoff of its court case. In this first stage of the proceedings, the petitioners, which include the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, National Center for Public Policy Research, and others, asked the 8th US Circuit Court for Appeals to permanently scrap the currently paused rule.

The petitioners argue that the rule is “unlawful several times over,” “micromanages businesses,” and is the most expensive SEC rule ever, putting an “extraordinary burden” on reporters. The SEC will set out its brief in early August before oral arguments begin later in the year.

Senate Takes Nuclear Option

In a nearly unanimous vote (88-2), the US Senate passed the ADVANCE Act (Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy). This bill will enable the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to approve licenses for nuclear facilities much quicker and cheaper. The bill received rare bipartisan support from legislators who support the adoption of advanced nuclear reactors and want the US to re-emerge as a nuclear energy leader. One of the bill’s sponsors, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., said, “Republicans and Democrats recognize the development of new nuclear technologies is critical to America’s energy security and our environment.”

The bill is almost certain to be signed by the President, giving the Biden Administration yet another climate win just as a new Yale study finds that the majority of Americans see the benefits of climate policies. The study revealed that 70% of US voters believe clean energy policies will improve economic growth and increase jobs. Surprisingly, the study revealed that support for some climate policies is more bipartisan than previously thought.?

Also this week, the Biden administration swore in the first class of the American Climate Corps, a federal program that aims to place young people in clean energy, conservation, and climate resilience jobs. More than 9,000 members will be in their roles by the end of the month.

Judge Throws Out Exxon Case

Exxon’s 6-month legal battle with activist investors culminated this week with a Texas judge dismissing the case. The back-and-forth case started with activist investors Arjuna Capital and Follow This filing a resolution to force Exxon to accelerate its plans to reduce its carbon emissions and to summarize new plans, targets, and timetables. Exxon sued the activists, saying the proposal “does not seek to improve ExxonMobil’s economic performance or create shareholder value” and the “Defendants’ overarching objective is to force ExxonMobil to change the nature of its ordinary business or to go out of business entirely.”?

On Monday, Texas judge Mark T. Pittman threw out the case, saying: “The trend of shareholder activism in this country isn’t going anywhere.”??

Previously, Arjuna Capital had withdrawn its resolution and moved for a dismissal of the lawsuit, which the judge had denied “because the proposal’s withdrawal didn’t foreclose the same conduct moving forward.” Then, Arjuna promised not to put forth similar proposals, prompting Judge Pittman to dismiss the case and say, “The court cannot advise Exxon of its rights without a live case or controversy to trigger jurisdiction.”

Exxon chief executive Darren Woods said, “The court?.?.?. made it clear that Arjuna is bound by its commitment to not submit, or work with others to submit, similar proposals to ExxonMobil in the future.”?

Exxon’s case is one of a growing number of anti-climate/ESG litigation cases in the US that could set a precedent. But experts like Luke Morgan of As You Sow said, “The reason that this (anti-ESG campaign) has moved to focus on litigation is because the political movement failed. There was no popular support for this whatsoever.”

Danger From Heat Waves Increase

Despite the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announcing the official end of the El Ni?o weather phenomenon last week, global heat waves persisted. This week’s heat wave in the US Northeast had around a fifth of the US population (70 million people) under an extreme heat warning.

Around the world, countries are seeing similar extreme weather events with fatal consequences. In Mecca, Saudi Arabia, more than 550 pilgrims died from heat-related illnesses as temperatures reached above 125F. Greece is also seeing its earliest-ever heat wave, which has killed at least five tourists, including a well-known British journalist. Recent research has found that longer and hotter heat waves can significantly increase the risks of non-accidental death. The issue is now so profound that dozens of health and environmental experts signed a petition to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to treat extreme heat as a natural disaster and send funds to help.

Also, with the end of El Ni?o and the beginning of La Ni?a in the coming weeks, experts say we will likely face a more active hurricane season. The first of which, hurricane Alberto, caused widespread flooding in Texas.

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Other Notable News:

• The European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) announced this week a “high-level of commonality” between the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) and the Taskforce on Nature-Related Disclosures (TNFD). They also released a mapping tool to help reporters understand the alignment between the two standards.?
• New research from Pleiades finds a decline in the number of anti-ESG policies becoming law. With a lack of public support, soaring costs, and counter legislation all taking their toll, only six proposals became laws in 2024 vs. 23 in 2023.
• One of the world’s largest insurers says the industry has lost $100 billion for four consecutive years because it failed to correctly estimate the costs of extreme weather events.?
• Bloomberg’s China ESG Trends Survey found that regulation is the primary reason Chinese companies are adopting ESG and that two-thirds of companies find data collection and integrity to be their biggest challenge.
• G7 countries are demanding richer developing countries such as China and Saudi Arabia to help pay for a new UN fund to support poorer nations' climate transition and hope to increase the $100 billion loss and damage fund at the COP meeting this year.
• New research from my company, BCG, shows how companies can utilize deep tech and innovation to meet consumer needs for more sustainable products.
• Singapore officials stepped up their clean-up operations as a huge oil spill threatened a protected marine region.

Notable Podcasts:?

• In this week’s episode of the Climate Rising podcast, the fourth in their decarbonizing supply chains series, the hosts talk to the founder and CEO of GALY, Luciano Bueno , to discuss how lab-grown cotton can reduce emissions in the textile industry and his company's technique for making artificial cotton using sugar.?
• This week’s episode of the BBC’s The Climate Question explores the real life and death issues facing conservationists trying to protect forests against illegal logging. The podcast team went to Romania, where illegal loggers have been threatening, committing violence, and, in some cases, even murdering environmentalists.

Notable Jobs:

• Senior Analyst, Sustainability, CBRE, New York
• Knowledge Expert - Sustainable Operations & Net Zero, BCG, Boston
• Sustainability Analyst, Third Economy, United States, Remote
• Climate Policy Consultant, Booze, Allen Hamilton, Washington, DC, Remote
• Senior Account Supervisor, Energy & Sustainability, Washington, DC, Hybrid
• Associate Director, Consulting, LRQA - sustainability, Houston or Seattle, Hybrid
• Investment Analyst - Sustainability, Galway Sustainable Capital, Washington DC-Baltimore Area, Hybrid
• Senior Analyst, Sustainability, The Carlyle Group, District of Columbia