Acting with other US regulators, the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC” or “Commission”) recently issued two consent orders (“CFTC Orders”) and filed a complaint (“CFTC Complaint”) alleging fraud and false, misleading, or inaccurate reports relating to voluntary carbon credits (“VCCs”). As noted by CFTC Director of Enforcement Ian McGinley, “[these actions] demonstrate [the CFTC’s] commitment to vigorously fight frauds in its markets, whether long-established or new and evolving, such as the carbon credit markets.” These are the first CFTC actions for fraud in the VCC market, and closely follow the CFTC’s recently published final Commission Guidance Regarding the Listing of Voluntary Carbon Credit Derivative Contracts (“Final Guidance”).

Much of the focus around climate legislation coming out of the latest California legislative session has been on new, far-reaching requirements pertaining to disclosure of climate data and climate-related financial risk. However, California also adopted a third law related to climate change last year – AB 1305 – which has received somewhat less attention but may well have a wider and more immediate effect. Intended to address greenwashing claims, particularly related to voluntary carbon offsets (“VCO”), the Voluntary Carbon Market Disclosure Act mandates disclosure by entities that: (1) sell VCO credits in California; (2) buy or use VCO credits sold in California; and/or (3) make climate claims about corporate performance or products.

Gathering at a pivotal moment, the 28th Conference of the Parties unfolded against the backdrop of projections that 2023 is poised to be recorded as the warmest year on record. The accelerating impacts of climate change served as a stark reminder of the urgency addressed throughout the conference.
Baker McKenzie’s Global Climate Change practice was on the ground in Dubai, continuing a decade’s long commitment to be actively engaged in understanding how UNFCCC negotiations create opportunities for clients, and drawing from our observations, we’ve compiled a concise report outlining our perspective on the outcomes at COP28.

Baker McKenzie has a long-standing history of participation and involvement in the UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP), advising governments, companies and other entities on implementing the Paris Agreement and leading on the development of both international and domestic carbon markets.
The team will be on the ground in Dubai for COP28 and look forward to engaging in ground-breaking discussions with all key stakeholders to share insights and continue to offer cutting-edge advice to our clients. In the meantime, we have prepared a series of primers on what we expect to be some of the key themes for COP28.