Key highlights from September 2024 in the sustainability space.
1- New York Climate Week 2024
The New York Climate Week was held between the 22nd and 29th of September in New York, coinciding with the UN Summit of the Future that took place between the 20nd and 23th of September in the same city. With 100.000 attendees and more than 900 events, the week was significant for the future of global climate goals. As COP29 is expected to see a sharp decline in attendance, due to the host state Azerbaijan's vested interests in oil and gas and the long travel times for US executives, the week is set to be the climate event of the year. During the week, the Climate Group unveiled an urgent 12 month action plan to get the world ‘on-track’ in relation to the climate in just one year. The global to-do list includes seven ambitious actions to deliver on climate commitments, highlighting the fact that the world does not have another year to waste when it comes to the climate crisis. Key takeaways from the week centre around alarm raised as the world breached the 1.5°C warming limit for an entire year for the first time, companies’ regulatory concerns as they ramp up for sustainability related disclosures for the first time in 2025, and geopolitical unrest interfering with the delivery of climate commitments. Other highlights from the week can be accessed here.
2- SEC dismantles Climate and ESG Task Force
The SEC has quietly disbanded its Climate and ESG Task Force, which was launched in 2021 to address misleading environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosures. Initially formed with nearly two dozen staffers, the task force played a significant role in high-profile enforcement cases, including actions against Bank of New York Mellon, Goldman Sachs, and Vale SA. Despite its closure, the SEC emphasized that the expertise developed by the task force has been integrated across its Enforcement Division.
The move comes amid growing backlash against ESG initiatives, with both the SEC and companies increasingly distancing themselves from the term. ESG priorities have been dropped from the SEC’s compliance examiners' focus, and it is uncertain if pending ESG regulations will be finalized before the potential change in SEC leadership in early 2025.
3- Australia passes legislation introducing mandatory climate-related disclosures
On the 9th of September, both houses of the Parliament of Australia passed the Treasury Laws Amendment (Financial Market Infrastructure and Other Measures) Bill 2024, requiring in-scope entities to disclose climate-related risks and opportunities in accordance with the relevant sustainability standards (ASRS) starting from January 2025. This introduction is a welcome step in harmonising sustainability related financial disclosures internationally. An interesting inclusion in the bill is a requirement for companies to disclose scenario analyses for a low warming scenario (1.5°C) and a high warming scenario (> or = 2.5°C), tying in with the abovementioned concern around the sustained breach of the 1.5°C warming target in 2024.
4- California’s Responsible Textile Recovery Act signed into law
On September 22, 2024, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed the Responsible Textile Recovery Act (SB 707), establishing the nation's first extended producer responsibility (EPR) program for apparel and textiles. This law requires manufacturers, distributors, and other producers of apparel and textile products to form or join a producer responsibility organization (PRO) by 2026, shifting the burden of managing end-of-life products to the producers. The program will include creating collection systems, education initiatives, and performance standards, and aims to handle post-consumer textile waste through repair, recycling, and managing chemicals like PFAS.
SB 707 is part of a growing EPR trend in California, which also passed EPR laws for electric vehicle batteries, marine flares, carpet, and paint. As more states and countries adopt EPR frameworks, manufacturers and retailers should closely monitor developments and ensure compliance with emerging regulations.
- Content prepared with the help of Defne Fresko Tasci.