Declarations

“When I think about greenwashing: Every company that is declaring themselves, that [their] company is going to be net zero — that sounds great in the beginning … If it’s just vague words, there are going to be a lot of shareholder suits because companies are over promising”

— Chubb Chair and CEO Evan Greenberg said when he was speaking at the 38th Annual S&P Global Ratings Insurance Conference. He explained Chubb executives’ reluctance to set net zero emissions targets for the carrier noting his concerns when it comes to Environmental Social Governance-type issues, especially around climate change right now, and directors and officers liability. He said at Chubb, “we have not declared ourselves to be net zero because we can’t imagine as a company how we can actually achieve that.”

“In New York, we are taking bold, strong action. We’re tightening red flag laws to keep guns away from dangerous people.”

— New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said when signing a new law that prohibits New Yorkers under age 21 from buying semiautomatic rifles, which makes the state among the first to enact a major gun control initiative following a wave of deadly mass shootings. Hochul, a Democrat, signed 10 public safety-related bills, including one that will require microstamping in new firearms, which could help law enforcement solve gun-related crimes. Another revised the state’s “red flag” law, which allows courts to temporarily take away guns from people who might be a threat to themselves or others.

“Because of this climate pollution, children in Hawaii are experiencing grave threats to their ability to live healthful lives in the Islands now and into the future.”

— A lawsuit filed in early June by 14 Hawaii children and teenagers alleges the state is violating the state constitution by operating a transportation system that harms the climate and infringes upon the plaintiffs’ right to a clean and healthy environment.

“We’re stuck. … Normally we’re wrapping up wheat planting by this time.”

— North Dakota farmer Dwight Grothberg said heavy rain has prevented planting as much wheat crop as he wanted and is hampering farmers across the state. North Dakota was expected to plant wheat over the smallest share of its farmland on record, according to government data. Worsening harvest prospects in China and parts of Europe, followed by an export ban by major producer India, have tightened stocks and exacerbated global food supply concerns.

“We conclude that nothing on this record precludes an insured from recording an insurance adjuster’s inspection while in the insured’s own home.”

— Judge Martha Warner, of Florida’s 3rd District Court of Appeals, writing in Gesten v. American Strategic Insurance Corp. The court held that a trial court had erred in siding with the insurer that an inspection could not be video and audio recorded because the homeowners’ policy did not explicitly permit it.

“I feel Southwest Louisiana has been made a sacrificial lamb.”

— Roishetta Ozane, an organizer for Healthy Gulf, on the expansion of liquified natural gas (LNG) terminals in parts of the Gulf Coast. Developers plan to build a series of LNG export facilities in Southwest Louisiana, which has been hit hard by hurricanes over the last five years. Critics warn that LNG produces emissions that worsen global warming and contribute to violent storms, while proponents say the terminals bring high-paying jobs to the area.