The D.C. Superior Court denied the beef producer JBS USA Food Co. (JBS USA) and its parent corporation’s motion to dismiss a climate washing action under the D.C. Anti-SLAPP (Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation) Law. The plaintiff, Mighty Earth, alleged, among other things, that JBS made false and misleading net zero claims that failed to account for Scope 3 emissions associated with the parent corporation’s value chain. The court found that most of JBS USA’s challenged statements were “representations of fact made for the purpose of promoting, securing, or completing commercial transactions in JBS’s good or services, and that the intended audience is an actual or potential customer.” The statements therefore were exempt from anti-SLAPP protection. Statements that did not qualify for this exemption from anti-SLAPP protection were related to sustainability-linked bonds; the court found that these statements were primarily related to protecting commercial interests and not protected by the anti-SLAPP law.

Climate washing action against major beef producer for allegedly misrepresenting that it can achieve net zero emissions by 2040 and making material omissions about its operations’ environmental harms.

Mighty Earth v. JBS USA Food Co.

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In Climate Washing Action Against Beef Producer, D.C. Court Denied Defendants’ Anti-SLAPP Motion to Dismiss

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An aim to achieve a quantifiable outcome within a given time-frame, set by an institution such as a national government.

Policy instruments are techniques or tools used by governing authorities to promote certain policies in order to achieve predetermined goals. Put simply, instruments are how a government tries to achieve its goals, with this taxonomy being focused on national policy instruments.

Risk is the potential for adverse consequences resulting from the dynamic interplay between (climate-related) hazards, exposure, and vulnerability of affected human or ecological systems.

Groups  of people who are adversely affected by climate change or the response to it

A set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy.

Justice is the ethical and political framework that addresses fairness, including issues of responsibility, rights, and structural inequity.

Renewable energy means all forms of energy produced from renewable sources in a sustainable manner.

Fossil fuel is a generic term for non-renewable energy sources such as coal, fossil gas, and oil (including crude oil, and petroleum products), that can be used for electricity and heat generation. Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons formed from pressurised and heated organic material buried over millions of years.

Molecules in the atmosphere that play a key role in the greenhouse effect by trapping heat radiating from Earth’s surface.

Area of the economy in which actors engage in identical or related activities.

In human systems, the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate change and its effects, in order to moderate harm, increase resilience or exploit beneficial opportunities. In natural systems, the process of adjustment to actual climate change and its effects; human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate change and its effects.

The management and allocation of funds, assets and investments to meet various objectives

A target to reduce the prevalence of a greenhouse gas over a specific time frame

A commitment to balance GHG emissions with removal by a certain point in time, effectively reducing the net emissions to zero

Either money or something of monetary value is transferred between two or more organisations, people or countries.

Actions or measures to adapt terrestrial systems to climate change.

The release of heat-trapping gases, primarily from human activities such as burning fossil fuels, agriculture and industry.

Terrestrial means "of the earth" and relates to the risks to ecological system that includes all living organisms and their interactions within land-based environments, such as forests, grasslands, and deserts.

Social inclusion is the process of improving the terms on which individuals and groups take part in society—improving the ability, opportunity, and dignity of those disadvantaged on the basis of their identity.

Fossil gas, commonly known as natural gas, is a fossil fuel consisting chiefly of methane with smaller amounts of other hydrocarbons and trace gases, found in underground deposits.

This sector creates and distributes information and entertainment through television, radio, print, and digital platforms.

This sector includes firms and individuals offering specialised expertise in fields such as law, accounting, consulting, science and engineering.

Slow onset events evolve gradually from incremental changes over many years or from increased frequency or intensity of recurring events. As defined in the Cancun Adaptation Framework (2010), slow onset events include risks and impacts from rising temperatures, desertification, biodiversity loss, land and forest degradation, glacial retreat, ocean acidification, sea level rise, and salinization.

In Climate Washing Action Against Beef Producer, D.C. Court Denied Defendants’ Anti-SLAPP Motion to Dismiss

Target

Risk

Impacted group

Just transition

Fossil fuel

Greenhouse gas

Economic sector

Adaptation/resilience

Finance