Issue - February 3, 2026

Good morning. It’s Tuesday, February 3, and this week’s ESG Litigation Weekly covers a Dutch court order requiring the Netherlands to strengthen climate protections for residents of Bonaire, a watchdog’s FTC complaint alleging Keurig Dr Pepper marketed K-Cup pods as “recyclable” despite practical barriers to recycling, Maine lawmakers advancing a proposed climate superfund bill that would seek payments from large fossil fuel companies to fund resilience and recovery costs, and more.

Court Orders Netherlands to Strengthen Climate Protections for Bonaire Residents
The Hague District Court ruled that the State of the Netherlands violated Article 8 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), and Article 1 of the Twelfth Protocol to the ECHR. The State failed to adequately protect residents of Bonaire from climate impacts and treated them differently from residents in the European Netherlands. The court ordered the State to take measures in accordance with the UN agreements, including embedding legally binding greenhouse gas reduction targets and pathways to 2050, and preparing and implementing a climate adaptation plan. Greenpeace Netherlands supported the plaintiffs.
🔗 Read more → de Rechtspraak (Court Judgment), Greenpeace’s Press Release

Climate Action Programme 2023 Requires Additional Measures, Bundesverwaltungsgericht Says
Germany’s Federal Administrative Court (Bundesverwaltungsgericht) dismissed the federal government’s appeal and confirmed that the Climate Action Programme 2023 must be supplemented with additional measures. The case, brought by Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH), challenged the program adopted on October 4, 2023, under the Federal Climate Change Act (Bundes-Klimaschutzgesetz), arguing it would not deliver the legally binding 2030 target of at least a 65% emissions cut versus 1990. The court said environmental groups may sue over such programs and upheld lower-court findings that the program’s projections were flawed and left a substantial CO₂e shortfall, requiring the government to update the program based on recent emissions trends.
🔗 Read more → Bundesverwaltungsgericht’s Press Release (in German), DUH’s Press Release (in German)

Federal Court Dismisses Trump Bid to Block Michigan Climate Claims
On January 24, Judge Jane M. Beckering of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan dismissed a Trump administration lawsuit that sought to prohibit Michigan from filing future state-law climate-impact claims against fossil fuel companies. Michigan Attorney General (AG) Dana Nessel had previously moved to dismiss. The court held it lacked jurisdiction because the dispute was not ripe and the United States had not established standing. The opinion also noted the longstanding role of state AG public-interest litigation even where federal regulation is significant.
🔗 Read more → Michigan Department of AG (Press Release, Court Order)

Minnesota Appeals Court Lets Climate Deception Suit Proceed
The Minnesota Court of Appeals affirmed the denial of motions to dismiss in Minnesota’s June 2020 climate deception suit against the American Petroleum Institute (API), Exxon Mobil, and Koch Industries. The court noted the district court dismissed the Prevention of Consumer Fraud Act claim but allowed failure-to-warn, fraud and misrepresentation, deceptive trade practices, and false advertising claims to proceed. It held that API and Exxon are subject to personal jurisdiction in Minnesota via consent-by-registration under the Minnesota Foreign Corporation Act, rejected constitutional challenges, including under the dormant Commerce Clause, and concluded Minnesota’s anti-SLAPP statute does not apply because it targets claims seeking damages and the State’s action is not a damages claim.
🔗 Read more → Court Opinion via mncourts.gov

U.S. District Court Allows Vineyard Wind Project to Resume After Stop-Work Order
A federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts ruled that Vineyard Wind may resume full activities in its Outer Continental Shelf lease area. Vineyard Wind had challenged the suspension after the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) issued the order on December 22, 2025, and the company filed suit on January 15, 2026. The ruling follows earlier court decisions allowing three other paused offshore wind projects to continue construction: Ørsted’s Revolution Wind, Equinor’s Empire Wind, and Dominion Energy Virginia’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind.
🔗 Read more → Vineyard Wind’s Press Release

Maine Lawmakers Advance Climate Superfund Bill Seeking Fossil Fuel Payments
Maine lawmakers advanced Legislative Document 1870 (LD 1870), a proposed climate superfund framework that would require large fossil fuel companies to pay climate damage fees to help fund infrastructure repairs, resilience efforts, and other costs from climate-driven flooding and disasters affecting rural and low-income communities. On January 28, the Maine Legislature’s Environment and Natural Resources Committee voted 8-4 to move the bill to the full Legislature, with the measure expected to go to the Maine Senate first. The bill was introduced last year and carried over to allow time for litigation over similar programs in Vermont and New York to develop.
🔗 Read more → Maine Morning Star, LD 1870 via Maine Legislature

HKMA Publishes Sustainable Finance Taxonomy Phase 2A
Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) published Phase 2A of its sustainable finance taxonomy, expanding the framework used to classify economic activities that support green and sustainable development and the transition to a low-carbon economy. The update follows a September 2025 consultation on a Phase 2A prototype and reflects feedback from banks, asset managers, corporates, NGOs, and public-sector stakeholders. HKMA said respondents generally supported broader coverage, added transition elements, and a climate adaptation category. HKMA described the taxonomy as a living document, with further phases in development.
🔗 Read more → HKMA (Hong Kong Taxonomy for Sustainable Finance Phase 2A, Consultation Report)

UK FCA Consults on ISSB-Aligned Sustainability Disclosure Rules for Listed Issuers
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published Consultation Paper CP26/5, proposing to replace its current climate disclosure rules for listed issuers, which are aligned with the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), and with requirements based on the UK Sustainability Reporting Standards (UK SRS) intended to reflect International Sustainability Standards Board Standards (ISSB). The proposals aim to improve consistency and comparability of sustainability disclosures, reduce duplication for overseas issuers, and use a proportional approach, including “comply or explain” for more challenging elements. Feedback is due March 20, 2026. The FCA expects a Policy Statement in autumn 2026, with the rules taking effect on January 1, 2027.
🔗 Read more → FCA (Media Release, Consultation Paper CP26/5, Online Response Form)

UK CMA Issues Supply Chain Guidance for Green Claims
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has published new guidance clarifying responsibility for environmental claims across complex supply chains. Intended to be read alongside the Green Claims Code, it explains that consumer law can apply to claims made by retailers, brands, manufacturers, and others involved in promoting or supplying products. The guidance cautions against relying on another party’s assurances without evidence, and notes that misleading, unclear, or unsubstantiated claims can expose multiple parties to enforcement action. It also references parallel oversight by the Advertising Standards Authority.
🔗 Read more → “Making green claims: Getting it right, across the supply chain” CMA Guidance

IPSASB Issues First Public-Sector Climate Disclosure Standard
The International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB) issued IPSASB SRS 1, Climate-related Disclosures, its first sustainability reporting standard for governments and public sector entities. The standard is intended to improve transparency and accountability on climate-related risks and opportunities, and to support decision-making by lenders and other resource providers. IPSASB said the standard was developed with support from the World Bank and is aligned with IFRS S2. It applies to annual reporting periods beginning on or after January 1, 2028, with early adoption permitted.
🔗 Read more → IPSASB SRS 1 (Full Document, Summary Document)

In partnership with FORWARDFUTURE

AI is moving faster than any other technology cycle in history. New models. New tools. New claims. New noise.

Most people feel like they’re behind. But the people that don’t, aren’t smarter. They’re just better informed.

Forward Future is a daily news briefing for people who want clarity, not hype. In one concise newsletter each day, you’ll get the most important AI and tech developments, learn why they matter, and what they signal about what’s coming next.

We cover real product launches, model updates, policy shifts, and industry moves shaping how AI actually gets built, adopted, and regulated. Written for operators, builders, leaders, and anyone who wants to sound sharp when AI comes up in the meeting.

It takes about five minutes to read, but the edge lasts all day.

Sign Up. Look Smart.

Watchdog Complains Keurig Misled Consumers by Marketing K-Cups as “Recyclable”
Truth in Advertising (TINA) filed complaints with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and regulators in more than a dozen states alleging Keurig Dr Pepper deceptively markets its K-Cup pods as “recyclable.” TINA said Keurig has promoted recyclability since switching from #7 to #5 plastic in 2020, including the use of the chasing arrows symbol, while adding only limited fine print advising consumers to “check locally.” An environmental consulting firm retained by TINA cited practical barriers to recycling, including the pods’ small size, mixed materials, and contamination. TINA argues these constraints mean K-Cups are typically not accepted for recycling, and the marketing conflicts with the FTC’s Green Guides.
🔗 Read more → TINA.org (Press Release, Complaint with FTC, Investigation and Complaint Filings with State Regulators)

Complaint Urges ACCC Probe Into Bunnings’ Timber Sustainability Claims
The Wilderness Society asked the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to investigate whether Bunnings made false or misleading environmental claims about the timber it sells. In a complaint letter prepared by the Environmental Defenders Office (EDO), the group alleges Bunnings’ statements that it excludes timber “illegally harvested or traded” and that forest certification provides assurance forests are “conserved and managed responsibly” may be misleading under Australian Consumer Law. The complaint also raises concerns that allegedly illegally logged timber may have entered Bunnings’ supply chain from Forestry Corporation of New South Wales, and questions whether Bunnings has sufficient traceability and verification systems. EDO said the ACCC confirmed receipt and will assess the complaint under its Compliance and Enforcement Policy.
🔗 Read more → EDO (Press Release, Complaint Filing)

Complaint Alleges Greenwashing in SGN’s Hydrogen Home-Heating Trial Marketing
Opportunity Green filed a complaint with the UK CMA alleging greenwashing in Scotland Gas Networks plc’s (SGN) marketing for its 2026 hydrogen home-heating trial in Fife, which plans to switch around 300 homes from natural gas to green hydrogen. The NGO argues SGN’s statements describing hydrogen as “clean burning” and “zero-carbon” are ambiguous or omit key context, including differences between green and other hydrogen types, the full climate impacts of hydrogen use, and evidence that electric heat pumps are typically more efficient and cheaper for decarbonizing home heating. The complaint also challenges SGN’s representations about nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions and asks the CMA to investigate and require changes to SGN communications.
🔗 Read more → Opportunity Green (Press Release, Complaint Filing)

After DUH Warning, Shein Narrows 2050 Climate Claims and Signs Cease-and-Desist Undertaking
Following a warning letter from Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH), Shein signed a cease-and-desist undertaking and revised website statements about reaching net-zero by 2050. DUH said Shein had promoted the 2050 goal without explaining how it would be achieved, while its sustainability reporting showed emissions rose by about 23% in 2024 year over year. Shein told German media that it held a constructive dialogue with DUH and published additional information to clarify its sustainability roadmap, targets, and underlying data. DUH said it has initiated further legal steps over additional terms, including “environmentally friendly.”
🔗 Read more → Handelsblatt (in German), DUH’s Press Release (in German)

SFDR Labels Had Little Impact on Fund Flows, Study Finds
An analysis of European mutual fund data finds the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) had no meaningful effect on investor flows into Article 8 or Article 9 funds after its March 2021 rollout, and little measurable effect on portfolio sustainability indicators. The authors suggest that the labels largely codified what investors already inferred from fund marketing and mandates, yet remained confusing for retail users. Survey and experimental results indicate disclosure can curb greenwashing only when it provides genuinely new and understandable information, supporting plans to simplify SFDR categories.
🔗 Read more → VoxEU/The Centre for Economic Policy Research

Catch up on previous editions → ESGLitigation.com

Enjoyed this issue? Please share it with your colleagues.
Have feedback or collaboration ideas? Contact us at [email protected]