Issue - December 2, 2025

Good morning. It’s Tuesday, December 2, and this week’s ESG Litigation Weekly covers a UK High Court dismissing a challenge to the issuance of North Sea oil and gas exploration licences, a lawsuit accusing Apple of misleading responsible sourcing claims, a Canada-Alberta energy deal that rolls back key federal climate measures, and more.

UK Court Upholds North Sea Exploration Licences Against Green Challenge
A UK High Court has rejected a legal challenge by Oceana UK seeking to block more than two dozen new North Sea oil and gas exploration licences in areas that overlap with marine conservation areas. The group argued the North Sea Transition Authority failed to properly assess risks to marine habitats and the climate impacts of burning additional oil and gas. Government lawyers, acting under Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, who has since banned new exploration licenses for North Sea fields, stated that the licenses only cover early-stage work and further assessments would be conducted before oil or gas is produced. The ruling is a setback for campaigners and a notable win for the oil and gas sector.
🔗 Read more → The Telegraph, Court Judgment

Advocacy Group Sues Apple Over Alleged Misleading Responsible Sourcing Claims
International Rights Advocates (IRAdvocates) has filed a lawsuit in D.C. Superior Court under the Consumer Protection Procedures Act (CPPA), alleging that Apple misleads consumers with claims of responsibly sourcing critical minerals from the Democratic Republic of Congo. The complaint cites evidence of forced and child labor, environmental damage, corruption, human rights abuses, and conflict links within Apple’s cobalt and tantalum supply chains. It challenges Apple’s public statements about its Responsible Sourcing Standard and use of “100% recycled cobalt”. IRAdvocates seeks a court order enjoining Apple from using allegedly misleading claims.
🔗 Read more → IRAdvocates (Press Release, Court Complaint)

Texas Drops Appeals to Revive ESG Proxy Advisory Law SB 2337
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has dropped Texas’s Fifth Circuit appeals seeking to revive SB 2337, a law that would have required proxy advisory firms to disclose their use of nonfinancial factors in ESG-related voting recommendations. Texas had previously appealed a federal judge’s August ruling that halted the state law before its September 1 effective date. Glass Lewis and Institutional Shareholder Services challenged SB 2337 on First Amendment and other grounds in separate cases, arguing the measure unlawfully targets their ESG voting advice.
🔗 Read more → Bloomberg Law

Homeowners Sue Big Oil Over Rising Insurance Premiums Tied to Climate Risks
Law firm Hagens Berman has filed a class action on behalf of Washington state homeowners who purchased homeowners insurance since 2017, alleging Exxon Mobil, Shell, Chevron, BP, ConocoPhillips, and the American Petroleum Institute ran a decades-long misinformation campaign to conceal their role in climate change. The suit says climate-driven extreme weather has pushed up homeowners insurance premiums, shifting costs onto ordinary policyholders. Claims include the Racketeer Influences Corrupt Practices Act (RICO), conspiracy, and unjust enrichment, and seek recovery of increased premiums and accountability for alleged deceptive climate communications.
🔗 Read more → Hagens Berman (Press Release, Court Complaint)

Canada and Alberta Roll Back Federal Climate Measures in New Energy Deal
Canada and Alberta have struck an energy deal that rolls back several outlined federal climate measures to spur oil and gas investment and support a potential new pipeline to the West Coast. Under the agreement, the federal government will scrap a planned emissions cap for the oil and gas sector and drop clean electricity rules, while Alberta commits to stronger industrial carbon pricing and support for a major carbon capture project. The deal, welcomed by oil producers and criticized by environmental groups, has triggered tensions within the government and raised concerns about a weakened national climate plan.
🔗 Read more → Reuters, Canada-Alberta Memorandum of Understanding

Sen. Cruz Proposes Bill to Restrict ESG and DEI Voting in Federal Retirement Funds
Senator Ted Cruz has introduced the Stop TSP ESG Act, which would prevent asset managers of the federal Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) from using federal employees’ retirement funds to advance ESG and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies through corporate shareholder votes. The TSP holds more than $1 trillion in assets, with core mutual funds primarily managed by BlackRock Capital Advisers and State Street Global Advisors. Cruz says the bill is intended to ensure retirement savings are invested in fiscally responsible ways and to restore accountability.
🔗 Read more → Senator Cruz’s Press Release, “Stop TSP ESG Act” Bill

EU Parliament Backs Delay and Simplification of Deforestation Law
The European Parliament voted 402 to 250 on November 26, backing targeted changes to the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) to ease implementation for companies while preserving its aims. The simplification would require only the first entity introducing products on the EU market to submit the due diligence statements, and small and micro primary operators would only need to file a one-off simplified declaration. The Parliament’s position would also grant all firms an extra year to comply, with large operators and traders applying the rules from December 30, 2026, and micro and small enterprises from June 30, 2027
🔗 Read more → European Parliament

The European Ombudsman Finds Flaws in Commission’s Handling of Urgent EU Laws
European Ombudswoman has found maladministration in how the European Commission prepared several urgent legislative proposals on corporate sustainability due diligence (Omnibus I), the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), and migrant smuggling. In three complaint-based inquiries, she concluded the Commission missed certain parts of its own Better Regulation rules, among others: failing to fully justify urgency to the public, cutting internal consultation to under 24 hours (Omnibus I case), publishing supporting evidence late (CAP case), and not clearly documenting climate consistency assessments (Omnibus I and CAP case). She recommends clearer, more transparent, and evidence-based procedures, including minimum standards for consultations in urgent cases.
🔗 Read more → European Ombudsman (Press Release, Recommendation on the European Commission’s Compliance with ‘Better Regulation’ Rules and Other Procedural Requirements in Preparing Legislative Proposals that It Considered to be Urgent: the Omnibus, Migration and CAP Case)

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Alberta Bill Would Shield AIMCo and Companies From Greenwashing Liability
Alberta’s government has proposed legislation to shield its Crown investment manager, Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo), from potential liabilities tied to a 2020 investment strategy that produced about C$2 billion in losses, and to protect companies in the province from greenwashing lawsuits when they carry out good-faith climate-related financial disclosures. This follows a shareholder advocacy group's complaint earlier this year to the Alberta Securities Commission (ASC), accusing two of the province's largest energy firms of misleading investors through inaccurate environmental disclosures. Finance Minister Nate Horner said the bill would prevent taxpayers from covering at least C$1.3 billion in claimed liabilities and give the ASC authority to decide what counts as good-faith disclosure, curb market misinformation, and temporarily halt trading. Critics question who will bear the losses and how free speech will be protected.
🔗 Read more → The Canadian Press

From Greenwashing and Greenhushing to “Greenproofing” in Finance
EY’s Global Financial Services Sustainable Finance Leader, Gill Lofts, says greenwashing is still an issue in financial services, but firms are managing it more actively as regulation and transparency requirements tighten. Some institutions have shifted toward “greenhushing,” communicating less about sustainability work amid political backlash and scrutiny. Behind the scenes, however, boards are adding sustainability expertise, with recent EY analysis showing rising numbers of directors with some form of sustainability experience. Lofts describes a new “greenproofing” phase, where sustainability is embedded in governance, risk, and strategy, so sustainability is treated as a core business concern rather than a communications exercise.
🔗 Read more → FinTech Magazine

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