“Corporate transition plans should not be optional”

…The EU’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive is a crucial piece of legislation designed to hold companies accountable for preventing and addressing environmental damage and human rights violations throughout their value chains. Notably, it aims to ensure big companies not only talk about climate transition plans but implement them.

However, the recent omnibus proposal from the European Commission risks diluting this intent, potentially doubling down on the risk of talking without doing…

The omnibus proposal introduces language that, if adopted, would blur the lines between planning and execution.

Article 22 of the CSDDD mandates that companies adopt and action transition plans for climate change mitigation; however, the proposed new wording lacks clarity on the extent to which implementation is required…

…The vagueness the omnibus introduces to the CSDDD opens the door to varied interpretations by countries and companies. This creates an uneven playing field and increases legal uncertainty…

…the absence of concrete climate transition plan requirements does not shield companies from legal repercussions.

The landmark case against Shell in the Netherlands, for instance, underscored that companies can be held accountable when they fail to adequately incorporate climate change considerations into their policy and governance frameworks…