Where Climate and Corporate Law Intersect
The economic effects of climate change are increasingly significant. The Sabin Center explores how corporate law, regulations, and business practices intersect with climate law and policy, offering research and legal tools to clarify this evolving landscape and support financial law efforts that drive sustainability.
Publications
- The Behavioral Effects of Corporate GHG Emissions Disclosures, by Cynthia Hanawalt and Andy Fitch (September 2025)
- Varied Legal Parameters Shape Fiduciaries’ Ability to Act on Climate Risk, by Cynthia Hanawalt and Andy Fitch (July 2025)
- Texas v. BlackRock Puts the Common Ownership Theory on Trial, with
Implications across the Financial Sector and Collaborative Sustainability
Efforts, by Cynthia Hanawalt and Denise Hearn, Revue internationale des
services financiers / International Journal for Financial Services (2025, No. 2) - Shedding Light on Climate Risk in 2025: Upcoming Debates About the SEC’s Climate Disclosure Rule, by Andrew Bernstein, Chloe Field, Cynthia
Hanawalt, and Lisa Sachs, Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment and
Sabin Center for Climate Change Law (November 2024) - ESG Legislation, Regulation, and Legal Implications, by Emma Elizabeth
Antin Daschbach and Cynthia Hanawalt, in Sustainable Investing: Problems
and Solutions, edited by Anatoly Schmidt; World Scientific Publishing
Company (2024) - Shocking Financed Emissions: The Effect of Economic Volatility on the Portfolio Footprinting of Financial Institutions, by Ilmi Granoff and Tonya Lee (May 2024)
- Recommendations to Update the FTC & DOJ’s Guidelines for Collaborations Among Competitors, by Cynthia Hanawalt, Denise Hearn, and Chloe Field, Sabin Center for Climate Change Law and Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment (May 2024)
- A Comparative Analysis of the SEC’s Climate Disclosure Proposal, by Charlie Assereto and Cynthia Hanawalt, Blue Sky Blog (December 2023)
- Decommissioning Liability at the End of Offshore Oil and Gas: A Review of International Obligations, National Laws, and Contractual Approaches in Ten Jurisdictions, by Martin Lockman, Martin Dietrich Brauch, Esteban F. Fresno Rodríguez, and José Luis Gallardo Torres (August 2023)
- Modelling Climate Litigation Risk for (Re)Insurers, by Martin Lockman, Columbia Law School, and Sabin Center for Climate Change Law (July 2023)
- Antitrust and Sustainability: A Landscape Analysis, by Denise Hearn, Cynthia Hanawalt, and Lisa Sachs, Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment and Sabin Center for Climate Change Law (July 2023)
- Transferred Emissions Are Still Emissions: Why Fossil Fuel Asset Sales Need Enhanced Transparency and Carbon Accounting, by Jack Arnold, Martin Lockman, Perrine Toledano, Martin Dietrich Brauch, and Shraman Sen (May 2023)
- AG Investigations and Copycat Anti-ESG Legislation Proliferate Despite Losses in Court, by Cynthia Hanawalt and Andy Fitch, Climate Law Blog, March 4, 2026
- Climate Skeptics Rush to Misuse Texas v. BlackRock, by Cynthia Hanawalt and Andy Fitch, Climate Law Blog, December 11, 2025
- State AG Attacks on Climate Alliances Still Lack Coherent Antitrust Theories, by Cynthia Hanawalt and Andy Fitch, Climate Law Blog, October 28, 2025
- The FTC Asserts (and Oversteps) its Antitrust Authority Against a Key Climate Alliance, by Cynthia Hanawalt and Andy Fitch, Climate Law Blog, October 27, 2025
- Scope 3 Emissions in Corporate Reporting: Calculating Climate Risk in Global Value Chains, by Pedro Aranguez Diaz, Climate Law Blog, October 23, 2025
- Corporate Climate Disclosures in the US and EU: An Expanding Regulatory Landscape Amidst Resistance, by Pedro Aranguez Diaz, Climate Law Blog, October 20, 2025
- Behavioral Effects of Corporate GHG Emissions Disclosures: A New Sabin Center White Paper, by Cynthia Hanawalt and Andy Fitch, Climate Law Blog, September 19, 2025
- How Banks Can Lead the Transition Financing Climate Solutions, by Ilmi Granoff, Climate Law Blog, September 18, 2025
- State Anti-ESG Movement Evolves to Target Investor Access by Cynthia Hanawalt and Andy Fitch, Climate Law Blog, August 21, 2025
- Fiduciary Duties White Paper: Varied Legal Parameters Shape Fiduciaries' Ability to Act on Climate Risk, by Cynthia Hanawalt and Andy Fitch, Climate Law Blog, August 5, 2025
- When tracking corporate climate conduct, do we focus too much on emissions?, by Ilmi Granoff, Climate Law Blog, August 4, 2025
- Uncertainty on Climate Risk Disclosure as Trump's SEC Abdicates Responsibility, by Cynthia Hanawalt and Andy Fitch, Climate Law Blog, July 28, 2025
- 100 Days of Trump 2.0: The US Weakens Regulations Addressing the
Financial Cost of Climate Change, by Cynthia Hanawalt and Andy Fitch, Climate Law Blog, April 30, 2025 - Reflections from Columbia’s Forum on Climate-Related Fiduciary Duty, by
Cynthia Hanawalt and Martin Lockman, Climate Law Blog, April 14, 2025 - New Report: Upcoming Debates on the SEC’s Climate Disclosure Rule, by
Andrew Bernstein, Chloe Field, and Cynthia Hanawalt, Climate Law Blog,
November 19, 2024 - The Anti-ESG Movement Has Not Fared Well in Court, but Critical Decisions
Are Pending, by Chloe Field and Cynthia Hanawalt, Climate Law Blog,
October 25, 2024 - The SEC’s Climate Disclosure Rule Will Reveal Healthcare’s Significant
Climate Risk Exposure, by Cynthia Hanawalt and David Introcaso, Climate
Law Blog, July 23, 2024 - Major Questions Doctrine Could Thwart SEC Climate Fraud Fight, by Cynthia
Hanawalt and Bethany Davis Noll, Bloomberg Law, July 22, 2024 - Recommendations to Update the Antitrust Guidelines for Competitor
Collaborations, by Cynthia Hanawalt, Denise Hearn and Chloe Field, Climate
Law Blog, May 15, 2024 - SEC Should Be Allowed to Equip Investors with Climate Info, by Sarah Goetz
and Cynthia Hanawalt, Law360, May 6, 2024 - The SEC’s Final Climate Disclosure Rule: Interrogating Preemption and other
Coherence with Other Domestic Regimes, by Chloe Field and Cynthia
Hanawalt, Climate Law Blog, March 29, 2024 - The SEC’s Final Climate Disclosure Rule: Pathways for Improving the “Floor”, by Chloe Field and Cynthia Hanawalt, Climate Law Blog, March 20, 2024
- The SEC’s Final Climate Disclosure Rule: Key Requirements, and the
Materiality Threshold, by Chloe Field and Cynthia Hanawalt, Climate Law
Blog, March 11, 2024 - Withdrawals From Climate Action 100 Highlight the Wrong Risks, by Cynthia
Hanawalt and Denise Hearn, The Hill, February 28, 2024 - The SEC’s Final Climate Disclosure Rule Must Respond to Emerging Legal
Risks, by Chloe Field and Cynthia Hanawalt, Climate Law Blog, December
11, 2023 - The antitrust theories are weak, but the effects can be chilling on corporate
collaboration for climate action, by Cynthia Hanawalt and Denise Hearn,
ImpactAlpha, December 4, 2023 - Banking regulators act in the face of headwinds to address climate risk, by
Chloe Field, November 10, 2023 - The Major Questions Doctrine is a Fundamental Threat to Environmental
Protection. Should Congress Respond?, by Mike Burger and Cynthia
Hanawalt, Climate Law Blog, October 19, 2023 - Of Pots and Kettles: Big Oil and the anti-ESG movement are accusing banks
of running ‘climate cartels,’ by Cynthia Hanawalt and Denise Hearn, Fortune,
August 2, 2023 - New Report Highlights the Complex Intersection of Antitrust Law and
Sustainability Goals, by Cynthia Hanawalt and Denise Hearn, Climate Law
Blog, August 1, 2023 - A Climate Adaptation Toolkit for the Insurance Industry, by Martin Lockman, Climate Law Blog, July 21, 2023
- Antitrust Reading List: Competitor Collaborations and Sustainability, by
Cynthia Hanawalt and Denise Hearn, Climate Law Blog, July 11, 2023 - The Slippery Notion of Boycotts in the Anti-ESG Movement, by Cynthia
Hanawalt and Denise Hearn, Climate Law Blog, June 14, 2023 - Reckoning with risk: Recent developments in climate and U.S. financial
regulation, by Eleonor Dyan Garcia, May 19, 2023 - Transferred Emissions are Still Emissions: Sabin Center and Columbia Center for Sustainable Investment launch report on the Empirical Emissions Impact of Fossil Fuel Asset Sales by Oil Supermajors, by Martin Lockman, Climate Law Blog, May 9, 2023
- Global Consensus is Emerging on Corporate Scope 3 Reporting: Will the
SEC Lead or Lag?, by Cynthia Hanawalt, Climate Law Blog, March 28, 2023 - The Fiduciary Duty of Directors to Manage Climate Risk: an Expansion of
Corporate Liability through Litigation?, by Cynthia Hanawalt and Maria
Antonia Tigre, Climate Law Blog, February 15, 2023 - DOL Rule Clarifies that ESG Analysis is Consistent with Fiduciary Duty. Will it Preempt State ESG Laws?, by Eleonor Dyan Garcia and Cynthia Hanawalt,
Climate Law Blog, November 23, 2022 - Are Collective Net Zero Targets Anticompetitive?, by Cynthia Hanawalt,
Climate Law Blog, November 4, 2022
Engagement
- February 5, 2026 comment to the California Air Resources Board (CARB)
- November 12, 2025 comment to the California Department Of Insurance (CDI)
- November 3, 2025 comment to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
- March 19, 2025 comment to the California Air Resources Board (CARB)
- September 18, 2023 comment to the Commodities and Futures Trading
Commission (CFTC) - March 21, 2023 comment to the New York Department of Financial Services
(DFS) - February 13, 2023 comment to the Federal Acquisition Regulatory (FAR)
Council - February 1, 2023 comment to the FAR Council on behalf of climate scientists
- January 18, 2023 comment to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
- October 7, 2022 comment to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission
(CFTC) - June 17, 2022 comment to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Events
- February 21, 2025 Colloquium: The New Climate Fiduciaries. Co-sponsored with the Millstein Center for Global Markets and Corporate Ownership, in partnership with ECGI.
- June 17, 2024 Webinar: What’s Next for Corporate Climate Disclosure?
- September 19, 2023 NYC Climate Week panel: Corporate Net Zero Pledges: Are Nature-Based Offsets Legitimate? Co-sponsored with Client Earth.
- April 25, 2023 Webinar: Does Antitrust Help or Hinder Sustainability?
Media Highlights
- US fiduciary duty law can justify both action and Inaction on climate risk, new study says, Green Central Banking, October 15, 2025
- Major Dutch pension fund withdraws from BlackRock, L&G in sustainability push, Green Central Banking, September 5, 2025
- SEC relying on court to decide on climate disclosure rule, legal experts say, Green Central Banking, August 11, 2025
- Florida Attorney General Subpoenas CPD and SBTI, Trellis, July 29, 2025
- New Study Could Bolster Climate Laws to Make Polluters Play, The New York Times, April 23, 2025
- EPA froze "green bank" funds worth billions, climate group suit says, The Canadian Press, March 12, 2025
- Trump, the Fed, and Climate’s Undeniable Systemic Risk, Central Banking,
February 12, 2025 - Loss of Collaboration Guidelines Irks Practitioners, Global Competition
Review, December 16, 2024 - What Trump's Victory Means for Climate Change, The New York Times, November 6, 2024
- Experts Sound the Alarm on Climate Litigation Risk, Green Central Banking,
July 18, 2024 - Contract Emissions Rules Near Release, Navigating GOP Hurdles,
Bloomberg, June 3, 2024 - Republican States Step up Legal Threats to Joe Biden’s Climate Agenda,
Financial Times, April 24, 2024 - Unpacking the SEC’s Climate Disclosure Rule (podcast) on ESG Insider: A
Podcast from S&P Global, March 15, 2024 - Insurer Climate Info Partnership Ups Federal Monitor’s Role, Law360,
March 15, 2024 - SEC Imposes Tighter Climate Rules on US Companies, Lloyds Insurance
Day, March 8, 2024 - Legal Experts Take Opposing Views on SEC’s climate disclosure rule and the First Amendment, Thomson Reuters, March 8, 2024
- SEC Approves New Climate Rule Far Weaker than Original Proposed, The
New York Times, March 6, 2024 - SEC Scales Back New Pollution-Disclosure Rules for Companies,
Bloomberg, March 6, 2024 - U.S. companies will have to start telling the public about their climate risks,
NBC News, March 6, 2024 - Climate Action 100+ Exits – A Crisis of Stewardship? Net Zero Investor,
February 20, 2024 - House Subpoenas Highlight GOP Antitrust Strategy on ESG, Law360,
November 9, 2023 - Public Reporting of Greenhouse Gas Emissions (podcast) on The Healthcare Policy Podcast, October 22, 2023
- Phoenix warns how climate change could cost the city, Sky Harbor, and your investments, Arizona Republic, August 30, 2023
- Investors Hail End to "Alphabet Soup" of Sustainability Disclosure with new ISSB Standards, Reuters ESG Watch, July 31, 2023
- Merciless exodus: what do NZIA’s departures mean for decarbonizing insurance liabilities? Net Zero Investor, June 15, 2023
- The Fight to Expose Corporations’ Real Impact on the Climate, Wired,
March 24, 2023 - Mark Carney's green alliance rides out stormy waters, Financial Times,
February 27, 2023 - U.S. ESG Roundup, Teneo Advisory Firm, February 16, 2023
- Politicians Want to Keep Money Out of E.S.G. Funds. Could It Backfire? The New York Times, January 30, 2023
- Report takes Carney climate alliance to task for providing billions for new fossil fuel projects, Financial Post, January 17, 2023