by Barbara Grady (Trellis) Businesses react to the country’s first climate disclosure laws. -- o Ideas differ on what should define “doing business in California.” o Many companies would prefer to avoid the new requirements altogether. o Emissions and climate risk
by Zack Budryk (The Hill) The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced Tuesday that it will not defend a year-old rule requiring publicly held companies to disclose climate-related risks and in some cases the details of their emissions. “The Rule is deeply
by Evan Halper, Maxine Joselow, Maegan Vazquez and Josh Dawsey (Washington Post) The executive has taken a defiant approach to fighting climate change by attacking policies that call for a shift from fossil fuels. -- President-elect Donald Trump announced on Saturday that he has
by Cynthia Thyfault (QuantaVision/Biofuels Digest) The US Securities and Exchange Commission recently finalized a climate disclosure rule that has sparked intense debate across political, corporate, and environmental spheres. Initially expected to align with the stringent climate regulations of the European Union, the SEC’s
by Leah Garden (Trellis) California and the EU's corporate disclosure mandates are acting like a port in a storm amidst federal upheaval. -- In recent months, new mandates requiring public companies to report their greenhouse gas emissions have been challenged in the
(U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission) The Securities and Exchange Commission today adopted rules to enhance and standardize climate-related disclosures by public companies and in public offerings. The final rules reflect the Commission’s efforts to respond to investors’ demand for more consistent,
by Erin Voegele (Biomass Magazine) A Pennsylvania refinery operated by a subsidiary of Delta Air Lines Inc. is evaluating the possibility of producing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and other renewable fuels, according to information contained in the company’s annual report. Delta filed
by Elsa Wenzel (GreenBiz) ... The business of sustainability continues to evolve rapidly. Here are the most important changes to expect in the coming year. Below are some defining moments that will drive change in the business of sustainability in the
by Liam Stoker (Reuters) With sustainability increasingly climbing up corporate agendas, decision-makers are navigating two primary disruptions — the pressure to decarbonize operations and the regulatory need to report Many businesses are preparing for more comprehensive sustainability reporting requirements by investing in
by Greg Norman, Simon Toms, Adam M. Howard, Kathryn Gamble (Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP) As part of its commitment to strengthen sustainability disclosure in its 2018 Sustainable Finance Action Plan, the European Commission (EC), together with the European Financial
by Rochelle Toplensky (Wall Street Journal) New international sustainability reporting standards could fulfill their ambition in becoming the global baseline as the advantages of using a single standard worldwide may, for many companies, outweigh the disadvantages of being more demanding than
by Janet Wood (WindPower Monthly) Florida-headquartered NextEra Energy Partners has announced plans to divest its natural gas pipeline assets in order to invest up to $20 billion in green hydrogen and renewable energy. READ MORE NextEra Energy Partners, LP announces plan
(OPIS via Renewable Fuels Association/Securities and Exchange Commission) PBF Energy Inc. incurred $1.226 billion in Renewable Identification Numbers credit costs in 2022, nearly 41% more than what it paid to comply with the Renewable Fuel Standard in 2021, the refiner
(Politico) Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler is reportedly considering scaling back the historic 'climate risk disclosure' rule, which would require large companies to disclose the carbon emissions from their supply chain. POLITICO’s Declan Harty breaks down the potential
by Ashley Erika O. Jose (BusinessWorld) Petron Corp. has secured regulatory approval on its planned biofuels venture, the company announced on Tuesday. In a regulatory filing, Petron said the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved an amendment to the company’s articles
(Climate Now) With Charles Cannon of RMI. Calls for transparent information on the carbon footprint of a product, service, company or government are getting louder from consumers and investors, and will likely be soon codified in regulations like the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s proposed
(Securities and Exchange Commission/Federal Register) The Securities and Exchange Commission (“Commission”) is proposing to amend rules and forms under both the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (“Advisers Act”) and the Investment Company Act of 1940 (“Investment Company Act”) to require registered
by Erin Voegele (Biomass Magazine) ... Growth Energy’s comments focused on the calculation of biofuel GHG emissions. “The proposed rule would require many public companies to calculate and disclose GHG emissions from throughout their entire supply chain and production cycle,” Growth Energy
(Fuels Institute) ESG Integrity, a Fuels Institute program, and the National Association of Fleet Managers (NAFA) announced a partnership to assist the fuels and transportation industries with meeting the growing demand for Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) planning and reporting. ESG
The recent SEC proposed rule that would require public companies to include certain climate-related information is being seen as a game-changer in ESG reporting. It also stands to accelerate boards of directors and the C-suite to hone their products, processes
by Ariana Fine (NGT News) Fleet Advantage, a truck fleet business analytics, equipment financing and life cycle cost management (LCCM) company, has released a program to help corporate truck fleets certify their greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) output, which was recently mandated
by Douglas MacMillan and Maxine Joselow (Washington Post) From Coca-Cola to Tesla, companies report emissions in widely different ways. A new federal rule is expected to standardize climate disclosures, putting the U.S. on closer footing with other countries. -- The
by Katanga Johnson (Reuters) As the U.S. securities regulator wraps up a draft of a landmark new climate change rule, environmental campaigners and activist investors want it to require companies to disclose not only their own greenhouse gas emissions but those
by Matthew Choi (Politico's Morning Energy) The American Petroleum Institute unveiled a voluntary template for its members to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions. Ben breaks down what it entails: “The template put forward by API includes five data sections, including
by Lorraine Woellert (Politico) In a draft executive order, President Joe Biden reaches into all corners of the federal government with plans that would touch every sector. -- President Joe Biden is preparing to instruct federal agencies to take sweeping
by Steven Mufson and Juliet Eilperin (Washington Post) The Commodity Futures Trading Commission aims to create a new Climate Risk Unit, joining initiatives at Treasury, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Federal Reserve -- A growing number of federal
(Our Daily Planet) The Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission wants to know what you want to know about how corporations are dealing with climate change and other environmental risks. In a speech yesterday to the liberal think tank the Center
by Matthew Choi and Kelsey Tamborrino (Politico's Morning Energy) The commission is setting up a climate and ESG task force in its enforcement division as the financial industry faces growing pressure to be more proactive on ESG disclosures, particularly regarding
(Aken Gump) On Tuesday, March 2, Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce (E&C) Committee introduced a sweeping climate proposal—the Climate Leadership and Environmental Action for our Nation’s (CLEAN) Future Act—an amended version of draft legislation released last year in the
by Avery Ellfeldt (E&E News) The acting head of the Securities and Exchange Commission is expanding the agency's efforts to push public companies to be transparent about the threats they face from climate change. Acting SEC Chair Allison Herren Lee announced yesterday
by Kelsey Tamborrino (Politico's Morning Energy) Securities and Exchange Commission member Allison Herren Lee said on Tuesday that "climate change presents a systemic risk to the financial market" and that "there's certainly evidence that climate risks are currently underpriced." Lee, who
(Bloomberg Law) Scheme to defraud EPA renewable fuel program; Criminal cases made damages easy to calculate e-Biofuels LLC and other defendants face a $70 million liability for violating the False Claims Act by engaging in a scheme to defraud the EPA’s renewable
by Dave Stafford (The Indiana Lawyer) Evansville-based Imperial Petroleum Inc. has been ordered to pay nearly $32 million to the Securities and Exchange Commission after it failed to reply to the SEC’s court filings seeking damages in a biofuels fraud case that
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In November 2011, the Digest ran a story on a remarkable proposition — advanced by Richard Hamilton, then CEO of Ceres — that biofuels companies – on the “level playing field” theory advanced by opponents of
by Amy Harder (Axios) ... Trillium proposed a resolution calling on EOG to set a target to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. EOG complained to the SEC in late December that the proposal would micromanage the company, calling it a "rigid, time-bound" target, and asked
by Miles Weiss, Jennifer A Dlouhy, and Mario Parker (Bloomberg) U.S. Attorney for Southern District of N.Y. seeks information; Icahn Enterprises discloses request in securities filing -- Federal investigators have issued subpoenas for information on Carl Icahn’s efforts to change biofuel policy while
by Jeff Amy (Fox Business/Associated Press) A federal judge has approved a $4.5 million settlement for private shareholders of failed biofuel maker KiOR, and a lawsuit by the state of Mississippi seeking to recover a much larger amount continues. U.S. District
by Timothy Gardner (Reuters) The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission informed eight Democratic U.S. senators last month that it is not investigating biofuels credits after the lawmakers had urged it to probe billionaire Carl Icahn's activity in that market, according
(Office of Senator Elizabeth Warren) U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Tom Carper (D-Del.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), called on the heads of the Commodities Futures
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Montana, Blue Marble Biomaterials will become the first biomaterials company to utilize Regulation A+, a type of equity crowdfunding regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission, and will offer equity shares to the public. Regulation
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In 2011, KiOR raised $150 million in its June IPO, claiming that it was generating yields of 67 gallons per ton in its Demo unit operations. But it was miles short of that. In our previous
(U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission) On September 26, 2016, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Texas-based Mard, Inc., formerly known as KiOR, Inc., ("KiOR"), and its former CEO and President Fred Cannon for failing to disclose important assumptions about the
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... But so far, the company and its celebrity investors and directors such as former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and famed venture capitalist Vinod Khosla had escaped close scrutiny. ... The methods for keeping the truth bottled
(U.S. Department of Justice) U.S. Attorney Josh J. Minkler for the Southern District of Indiana announced today the guilty verdict after an eight-day jury trial of Jeffrey Wilson of Evansville, Indiana, who was charged with securities fraud related to a
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... The company was beginning to hurtle towards an IPO. But the fuel yields were low; the fuel was not usable by their initial chosen downstream partner; the catalyst they were using to get even down
by Devin Henry (The Hill) Natural gas developers are providing very restricted information about their methane emissions to investors, according to a report released Monday by a green group. According to an Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) analysis, only 18 of 65 major
(Influence Map) An analysis of SEC 10-K filings by the 20 leading US industrial companies ... -- The findings in this report complement the existing CERES/CookESG Research SEC sustainability search tool, which covers climate change and water risks for 4,500 public companies (10-Ks only)
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Unlimited oil production, no exploration risk, positive on environment, cheaper than unconventional US crude — what’s not to like about certain biofuels? This year, Joule Unlimited noted that a “10,000 acre plant represents a reserve value
by Ryan Koopmans (Des Moines Register) ... For the last decade, Big Oil has been running nervously through the halls of the U.S. Capitol and the EPA, screaming — to anyone who will listen — that the Renewable Fuel Standard is
by Siri Srinivas (The Guardian) Shareholders ask the five largest US oil companies – Valero, Exxon Mobil, Marathon Petroleum, Phillips 66 and Chevron – to disclose the risks their operations and facilities face from rising sea levels and storm surges. ... In letters
by Steven Mufson (The Washington Post) Just over a year ago, billionaire venture capitalist Vinod Khosla was bubbling with optimism about one of his latest investments: KiOR, a biofuel outfit he said would turn wood chips into hydrocarbons that could
(Global BioBusiness) A former cofounder of biofuel maker KiOR says he tried to warn other board members about problems with KiOR’s technology. The claims come from Mr. Paul O’Connor, who cofounded the company and worked there until June 2012 and
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Key figure and company director Paul O’Connor resigns. Allegations relating to possible inside trading, suppression of 3rd party technology report laid by the Board against O’Connor. O’Connor makes allegations concerning “KiOR’s management team and KiOR’s technology”. In
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The following is excerpted from KiOR’s most recent 10-Q quarterly report, as filed with the SEC. “We have substantial doubts about our ability to continue as a going concern. To continue as a going concern, we must
by Joe Leo (Biodiesel Magazine/BrownWinick Law Firm) Let’s be honest, despite the fact that the biodiesel industry is experiencing arguably its most successful year, it is still difficult for biodiesel producers to raise capital in the current investing climate. This
(PR NewsWire/ Pomerantz Grossman Hufford Dahlstrom & Gross) Pomerantz Grossman Hufford Dahlstrom & Gross LLP has filed a class action lawsuit against Kior, Inc. ("Kior" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: KIOR) and certain of its officers. The class action, filed in United States District
by Jim Lane (BioInvest Digest) Renaissance in biobased capital raising expected; register your interest in raising capital or seeing deal flow. In Washington, SEC Commissioners have voted 4-1 to lift the ban on general solicitation, and to create a new 506( c)
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The first gas fermentation technology to come to the public markets: Coskata files its $100 million IPO. Here’s our 10-minute version of the filing, with a translation of the risks into English. ...Coskata, which in the
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Can PetroAlgae find a market for its feed among the aficionados of alfalfa and fishmeal, with fuels on the side? In its recent IPO revision, it says “sure can”. ... PetroAlgae has filed a massive revision
by Kevin Cooper (Natchez Democrat) A federal judge ruled Thursday that would-be biofuels wizard John Rivera’s claims were not worth the hill of beans he claimed could be magically turned into fuel. U.S. District Judge David Bramlette handed down a summary
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