The London School of Economics and the American Bar Association's Standing Committee of Environmental Law will be hosting a conference Participating in the New Green Economy: The Challenge of Climate Change and the Opportunities for Clean Energy May 23-24 in London.

On June 15, 2011, the NDP, Canada's main opposition party, reintroduced a bill that proposes to legislate stronger targets for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions in Canada. Bill C-224, the Climate Change Accountability Act to cut GHG emissions by 25% below 1990 levels by 2020 and by 80% below 1990 levels by 2050.

On January 4, 2012, Ontario amended O. Reg. 282/98 under the "Assessment Act" to provide new rules with respect to the assessment of property taxes on renewable energy installations.

Quebec and the Federal Government have entered an agreement to give the province 100 per cent of the oil and gas royalties from the portion of the Old Harry formation that lies within the province’s undersea boundary in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

In a recent case decided in the Superior Court of California, Association of Irritated Residents vs. California Air Resources Board et al, a San Francisco County judge made a tentative ruling against the California Air Resources Board (CARB) ordering CARB to postpone the implementation of regulations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including the creation of a cap-and-trade system.

On June 17, 2011, Texas Governor Rick Perry signed Bill HB 3328 into law, making Texas the first state to require public disclosures of the chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing, or "hydrofracking," operations.

TransCanada Corporation ("TransCanada") announced on February 27, 2012 that it has sent a letter to the U.S. Department of State ("DOS") informing DOS of its intention to reapply for a Presidential Permit in the near future for the Keystone XL Project.

On November 23, 2009, Québec's Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks announced Québec's target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by 20% below 1990 levels by the year 2020.

The first reading of Bill 144, Budget Measures Act, 2015, took place on November 18, 2015. The proposed amendments, which are set out in Schedule 18 of Bill 144, will come into force when the bill receives royal assent.

The AMF issued its blanket exemption decision on May 15 to extend the date for the commencement of over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives trade reporting.

The Alberta Securities Commission recently released its 2010 Oil and Gas Review, a report that contains the ASC's observations on the oil and gas disclosures of Alberta reporting issuers.

Last week, Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney designated the Canadian Derivatives Clearing Service (CDCS), operated by the Canadian Derivatives Clearing Corporation (CDCC), as subject to oversight under Part I of the Payment Clearing and Settlement Act. The designation is effective April 30, 2012.

The Bank of Canada recently released a report, Financial System Review, intended to identify and consider potential risks to the Canadian financial system and promote public discussion regarding such risks.

The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) today published for comment proposals to establish a new framework for regulating securitized products.

On April 12, the CSA published a notice regarding the adoption of IFRS by Canadian investment funds. As we discussed in a blog post of March 24, the CSA recently decided to delay the implementation of IFRS for investment funds to reflect the decision by the Canadian Accounting Standards Board to defer the transition to IFRS for investment companies to January 1, 2013.

Yesterday, the Canadian Securities Transition Office released an update on its activities for the last few months. Notably, the CSTO stated that it has now begun to develop regulations to accompany the proposed federal Securities Act released by the Department of Finance earlier this year.

Yesterday, the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) released a notice providing information on exemptions granted in 2011.

The Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada released its 2010-11 annual report today, entitled Building Confidence in Canada's Capital Markets.

Institutional Shareholder Services will be hosting webinars next week concerning its policy updates for the 2012 proxy voting season.

As part of their 2009 commitment to move forward with cap-and-trade legislation, the Province of Manitoba is inviting public comment on the structure of any future cap-and-trade regime.