The Maryland Department of the Environment ("MDE") will publish proposed rules limiting greenhouse gas ("GHG") emissions from covered buildings and requiring covered building owners to submit detailed energy performance...more
12/18/2023
/ Benchmarking ,
BEPS ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Climate Change ,
Data Collection ,
ENERGY STAR Program ,
Environmental Policies ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Net Zero ,
Property Owners ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment
In Short -
The Situation: The California legislature passed landmark climate bills that surpass emissions disclosure requirements of any other existing state law. The bills are branded as the nation's first comprehensive...more
9/28/2023
/ California ,
CARB ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Doing Business ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sustainability
"Green Day" in the UK -
As part of its "Powering Up Britain" strategy, the UK government has published a series of documents setting out its vision for the UK's transition to net zero and the strengthening of UK energy...more
Washington State's new cap-and-invest program officially launched in January 2023. The program, largely modeled after California's cap-and-trade program, originates from Washington's 2021 passage of the Climate Commitment Act...more
Quick! When you think about hydrogen, what is the first image you think of? Is it the explosion of the Hindenburg? A mushroom cloud spreading over the New Mexican desert? These images likely come to mind courtesy of...more
REGULATORY ISSUES & UPDATES -
European Taxonomy Regulation Extended to Natural Gas and Nuclear Energy -
The regulation is likely to create new opportunities for natural gas and nuclear energy in the European Union,...more
In West Virginia v. EPA, a case argued by Jones Day, the U.S. Supreme Court determined that Congress did not authorize the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") to compel generation shifting among existing electric...more
What Happened: West Virginia v. EPA -
In West Virginia v. EPA, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Jones Day client, the North American Coal Corporation, and determined that the EPA did not have clear authorization from...more
7/13/2022
/ Air Pollution ,
Chevron Deference ,
Clean Air Act ,
Clean Power Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Global Warming ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Pollution Control ,
Power Plants ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Resource Management ,
SCOTUS ,
West Virginia v EPA
After years of attempts with varying success to regulate methane emissions from new oil and gas wells, the Biden administration has shifted strategy in proposing a regulatory program covering both new and existing oil and...more
11/22/2021
/ Air Pollution ,
Biden Administration ,
Bureau of Land Management ,
Clean Air Act ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Comment Period ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Methane ,
New Regulations ,
New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) ,
Oil & Gas ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform
In transactions, climate change diligence is generally directed at examining the climate change impact of a potential investment. This involves focusing both on confirming the information provided by the target of the...more
Interim Update on Biden Administration Climate Change Initiatives -
The last edition of the Climate Report discussed President Biden's signing, on his first day in office, of an instrument for the United States to re-join...more
Climate Change Regulatory Issues & Updates -
Interim Update on Biden Administration Climate Change Initiatives -
The last edition of the Climate Report discussed President Biden's signing, on his first day in office,...more
The Biden administration's Executive Order on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad ("Executive Order") expands upon the Department of the Interior's Secretarial Order No. 3395 and indefinitely suspends the federal...more
2/3/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Climate Change ,
Department of the Interior ,
Environmental Policies ,
Executive Orders ,
Mineral Leasing Act ,
Moratorium ,
NEPA ,
Oil & Gas ,
Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act ,
Regulatory Reform
Climate Change Regulatory Issues & Updates -
EPA Issues Affordable Clean Energy Rule -
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") issued the Affordable Clean Energy rule on July 8 to repeal the Clean Power Plan...more
The Situation: Proposed resolutions in Congress and an injunction request in a Ninth Circuit case both seek significant reductions in fossil fuel use throughout the economy.
The Result: In the near term, it is easy to...more
3/15/2019
/ Clean Air Act ,
Climate Change ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Energy Policy ,
Environmental Policies ,
Fossil Fuel ,
Green New Deal ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Oil & Gas ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Public Trust Doctrine
US. REGULATORY AND LITIGATION DEVELOPMENTS -
EPA PROPOSES TO RESCIND CLEAN POWER PLAN -
What EPA Did -
In a decision expected and promised since the election of President Donald Trump, the United States...more
11/27/2017
/ Air Pollution ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Clean Air Act ,
Clean Power Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Company Vehicles ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Fracking ,
France ,
Global Warming ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Investors ,
Land-Use Permits ,
Netherlands ,
Nonprofits ,
Oil & Gas ,
Paris Agreement ,
Popular ,
Renewable Energy ,
Rescission ,
Stakeholder Engagement ,
Sustainable Business Practices
On June 1, 2017, President Trump announced that the "United States will cease all implementation" of the Paris Climate Accord. This Commentary provides a short summary of the impacts of President Trump's announcement....more
6/8/2017
/ Clean Power Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Coal ,
Energy Policy ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
International Relations ,
Paris Agreement ,
Private Sector ,
Renewable Energy ,
State and Local Government ,
Trump Administration