In accordance with the January 31 deadline under the Copenhagen Accord, Canada has filed a target with the United Nations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 17 percent from 2005 levels over the next 10 years. This is identical to the target filed by the United States and is less stringent than Canada's prior commitments under the Kyoto Protocol (6 percent below 1990 levels by 2012) or the federal government's "Turning The Corner" legislative framework (20 percent from 2006 levels by 2020). Such targets are likely a further step toward a binding international treaty and could form the basis for climate change legislation in Canada and the United States.

As international and domestic obligations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions become a reality, securities regulators have responded to pressure from investors to improve securities disclosure regarding climate change risk. Last week, the United States' Securities and Exchange Commission announced upcoming guidance as to how issuers should interpret current disclosure obligations with respect to climate change impacts, including material:

• impact of legislation and regulation;
• impact of international accords and treaties;
• actual or potential indirect consequences of regulation or business trends
(such as technological, political and scientific developments); and
• physical impacts of changes in climate.

In December, the Ontario Securities Commission also announced upcoming guidance with respect to existing environmental securities disclosure obligations.

Authored by Alexandria Pike and Sarah Powell.

If you have any questions regarding the foregoing, please contact Alexandria Pike (416.367.6989) or Sarah Powell (416.367.6931) in our Toronto office, or Michel Pelletier (514.841.6455) or Marc-André Boutin (514.841.6527) in our Montréal office.

Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP, with over 240 lawyers, practises nationally and internationally from offices in Toronto, Montréal and New York and is consistently at the heart of the largest and most complex commercial and financial matters on behalf of its North American and international clients.

The information and comments herein are for the general information of the reader and are not intended as advice or opinions to be relied upon in relation to any particular circumstance. For particular applications of the law to specific situations, the reader should seek professional advice.