On November 12, 2024, the Hague Appeals Court overturned a landmark 2021 decision ordering oil giant Shell to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions 45% from 2019 levels by 2030.

On October 17, 2024, Ontario’s Court of Appeal sided with a group of young climate activists in its Mathur v Ontario decision, reviving a case against the province which was previously dismissed in April 2023.

The European Court of Human Rights delivered its long-awaited first ruling in the climate action case Verein KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz v. Switzerland, finding that the European Convention on Human Rights encompasses the right to effective protection from adverse effects of climate change.

On March 6, 2024, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted new rules that, per the SEC press release, will “enhance and standardize climate-related disclosures by public companies in public offerings.”

In this report, we provide a broad overview of 2024’s animated Canadian climate law and policy landscape.

On December 13, Canada’s Federal Court of Appeal released a unanimous decision to revive La Rose, a previously-dismissed youth climate action case, and send it to trial.

The rule may require coal and gas-fired power plants, both new and old, to use carbon and capture sequestration and hydrogen-fueled generation technologies to reduce emissions and achieve an up-to 90% CO2 capture rate by 2035 (for natural gas plants) or 2040 (for existing coal plants scheduled to operate past that date).

On April 14th, Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice dismissed the climate action case Mathur v. Ontario, in which seven youth plaintiffs alleged that Ontario’s lacklustre 2018 climate plan, adopted following Doug Ford’s election to premier, violates the Charter rights of today’s youth and future generations.

If adopted, firms offering public investments would have to disclose greenhouse gas emissions (or explain non-disclosure), as well as governance, strategy, risk management practices, and metrics pertaining to climate-related risks and opportunities.

The European Union’s executive branch, the European Commission, last week unveiled its ‘Fit for 55’ climate plan: an ambitious set of policy and regulatory proposals aimed at lowering the bloc’s net emissions by “at least” 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. In this piece, we’ve put together an overview of the plan’s principal components.