Issue - August 4, 2026

Good morning. It’s Tuesday, August 4, and this week’s ESG Litigation Weekly covers TotalEnergies’ appeal of a French ruling on its climate-related obligations under the duty of vigilance law, a proposed class action challenging Amazon’s seafood sustainability claims, a Swedish consumer complaint over Volvo Group’s electric-truck target, and more.

TotalEnergies Announces Appeal of French Climate Duty of Vigilance Ruling
TotalEnergies will appeal a June 25 Paris Judicial Court judgment concerning its obligations under France’s corporate duty of vigilance law. The claimant groups said the court recognized that climate-related vigilance obligations extend to emissions generated when customers use the company’s oil and gas products and found its vigilance plan insufficient in that respect. TotalEnergies argues that climate change falls outside the law’s scope and that companies should not be responsible for risks arising from customers’ activities. Notre Affaire à Tous, Sherpa, France Nature Environnement, and the City of Paris said they will defend the judgment on appeal.
🔗 Read more → TotalEnergies (Press Release), Notre Affaire à Tous (Press Release)

Boulder Urges Supreme Court to Allow Climate Lawsuit to Proceed
Boulder County and the City of Boulder asked the U.S. Supreme Court to dismiss Suncor Energy and other fossil fuel companies’ appeal for lack of jurisdiction or affirm a Colorado Supreme Court decision allowing their climate lawsuit to proceed. The local governments allege the companies deceptively marketed fossil fuels and contributed to climate change through production and sales, causing local property, health, and safety costs. They seek damages, not limits on operations or emissions. The respondents argue the interlocutory ruling is not reviewable and that neither the Constitution nor the Clean Air Act preempts their state-law claims.
🔗 Read more → U.S. Supreme Court (Brief for Respondents, Case Docket)

Johnson & Johnson Announces Proposed $5.5 Billion Ovarian Talc Resolution
Johnson & Johnson (J&J) announced a proposed $5.5 billion resolution of remaining lawsuits alleging its talc products caused ovarian cancer. The agreement with firms leading federal multidistrict litigation and related state proceedings is conditioned on participation by at least 95% of remaining claims. It follows a July 22 federal court order directing plaintiffs to explain why pending claims should not be dismissed after they withdrew specific-causation experts in two bellwether cases. J&J denies that its talc products cause cancer. The proposal calls for an initial payment of up to $3 billion in 2027, with no further payments due before 2028.
🔗 Read more → Johnson & Johnson (Investor News), Associated Press

Tribal Nations and Conservation Groups Challenge Mojave Water Pipeline Right-of-Way
The Fort Mojave Indian Tribe, Chemehuevi Indian Tribe, Native American Land Conservancy, and National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) sued the U.S. Interior Department and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) officials over a July 8 right-of-way allowing Fenner Gap Mutual Water Company to use the Northern Pipeline for Cadiz’s Mojave Groundwater Bank. The plaintiffs allege BLM unlawfully excluded groundwater-withdrawal impacts from its environmental and historic-preservation reviews, threatening desert springs, ecosystems, and Tribal cultural resources. They assert violations of federal environmental and land-management laws and seek to vacate the permit and halt water transport until the agencies complete legally required reviews.
🔗 Read more → NPCA (Press Release, Court Filing)

NAW Challenges Colorado Packaging EPR Law
The National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors (NAW) sued the executive director of Colorado’s health department, challenging the state’s extended producer responsibility (EPR) program for packaging and paper products. The law requires covered producers to join Circular Action Alliance, unless they establish an approved individual program, and pay fees supporting statewide recycling. NAW alleges the framework unlawfully delegates fee-setting authority to a private organization, burdens interstate commerce, compels association and funding of speech, and restricts businesses from itemizing EPR costs on customer invoices. It seeks declaratory relief and a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement against its members while the case proceeds.
🔗 Read more → NAW (Press Release), New Civil Liberties Alliance (Complaint Filing, Motion for Preliminary Injunction), Colorado General Assembly (HB22-1355: Producer Responsibility Program for Recycling)

Singapore Consults on ISSB-Aligned Disclosure Standards
Singapore’s Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) opened consultation on draft Singapore Sustainability Disclosure Standards based on IFRS S1 and IFRS S2 through October 25, 2026. Under Singapore’s climate-first approach, Singapore Financial Reporting Standards (SFRS) S2 would be mandatory, while broader sustainability reporting under SFRS S1 would remain voluntary. The draft incorporates climate-relevant SFRS S1 provisions into SFRS S2 so it can operate as a standalone standard. Proposed local adjustments include phased reporting timelines, ongoing Scope 3 relief where reporting is not mandated, a compliance statement tied to applicable SFRS S2 requirements, and voluntary rather than mandatory consideration of SASB materials.
🔗 Read more → ACRA (Press Release, Consultation Paper)

ISSB Proposes Digital Taxonomy Update for GHG Disclosures
The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) proposed updates to its digital sustainability taxonomy to reflect December 2025 amendments to IFRS S2 greenhouse gas disclosure requirements. The changes would add tags for companies limiting Scope 3 Category 15 reporting to financed emissions, distinguish total Category 15 emissions from the financed-emissions subtotal, and accommodate industry-classification systems other than the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS) when disaggregating financed emissions. The taxonomy supports computer-readable reporting but does not create new disclosure requirements or affect compliance with ISSB Standards. Comments are due by September 28, 2026.
🔗 Read more → IFRS Foundation (Press Release, Proposed Taxonomy Update)

GHG Protocol and ISO Plan Unified Corporate Emissions Standard
The Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) will consolidate their corporate greenhouse gas accounting standards into a single, co-branded standard. The project will integrate GHG Protocol’s Corporate Standard, Scope 2 Guidance, Scope 3 Standard, and Actions and Market Instruments (AMI) workstream with ISO 14064-1. A consolidated public consultation is planned for the second quarter of 2027, with publication targeted for the fourth quarter of 2028. GHG Protocol also received nearly 1,100 responses to its Scope 2 consultation and is developing a proposed framework separating physical emissions, market-based emissions, and the emissions impacts of corporate climate actions.
🔗 Read more → GHG Protocol (Announcement, FAQ Resource)

EU Publishes Technical Standards for ESG Rating Providers
Two delegated regulations on ESG Ratings Regulation were published in the Official Journal of the EU on July 28. They apply from July 2, 2026, and enter into force 20 days after publication. Regulation 2026/871 specifies product-level disclosures covering methodologies, materiality approaches, data limitations, fees, business models, conflicts of interest, international-agreement alignment, and methodology revisions. Regulation 2026/872 establishes safeguards for separating ESG rating activities from other activities, including distinct reporting lines, physical and digital information barriers, annual staff declarations, training, compliance monitoring, and additional controls for providers administering benchmarks.
🔗 Read more → EUR-Lex (Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/871, Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/872)

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Amazon Faces Proposed Class Action Over Seafood Sustainability Claims
A proposed nationwide class action was filed in Washington federal court alleging that Amazon misled shoppers about the sustainability of seafood sold through its platform. The complaint challenges claims including “sustainable,” “responsibly sourced,” “traceable,” “dolphin safe,” and “MSC Certified Sustainable Seafood” across Amazon-owned and other brands sold on the platform. Plaintiffs allege the combined messaging overstates environmental benefits and omits limitations involving traceability, fishing practices, bycatch, and Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification. They assert Washington consumer-protection and related claims and seek damages, restitution, and injunctive relief.
🔗 Read more → Hagens Berman (Press Release, Court Filing, Case Page)

Volvo Group Faces Greenwashing Complaint Over Electric-Truck Target
Advocacy group Ekō filed a complaint with the Swedish Consumer Agency alleging that Volvo Group’s website presents a misleading picture of its electric-truck commitments. Volvo announced in 2023 that electric models would account for 50% of global new Volvo truck sales by 2030. Ekō said the target was later removed from the company’s English-language climate page but remained on its Swedish page. Ekō also said Volvo told the group in May that the target “will probably not be materialized.” The group is asking the agency to investigate whether the continued Swedish-language claim violates Section 10 of Sweden’s Marketing Act.
🔗 Read more → Ekō (Press Release)

Working Paper Examines Chinese Courts’ Growing Climate Governance Role
An LSE Grantham Research Institute working paper examines the expanding role of Chinese courts in environmental and climate governance through specialized environmental divisions, public-interest litigation, and climate-informed legal interpretation. Drawing on legal research and interviews with 20 judges and prosecutors conducted between 2022 and 2025, the authors find that climate litigation remains focused primarily on private actors, while challenges to government action are tightly constrained. Courts generally defer to executive policymaking and favor technological solutions over measures that could threaten business viability. The authors conclude that the Ecological and Environmental Code is more likely to reinforce than fundamentally alter existing patterns of climate-related adjudication.
🔗 Read more → LSE Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment (Working Paper)

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