On July 4, 2025, the Commission adopted a set of measures to simplify the application of the EU taxonomy, in the form of a Delegated Act amending the Taxonomy Disclosures, Climate and Environmental Delegated Acts....more
Welcome to our fifth issue of Currents 2025. We are covering a multitude of issues in this edition, but we want to pass along an announcement and an event notice first. Again, thank you for reading! Tapping Into Common...more
Good morning! This is Akin’s newsletter on climate change policy and regulatory developments, providing information on major climate policy headlines from the past week and forthcoming climate-related events and hearings...more
World leaders, scientists, government decision-makers, private sector actors, climate actionists and other stakeholders have convened at 29th Conference of the Parties (COP29) to the United Nations Framework Convention on...more
On July 4, 2024, the UK general election took place, and the Labour Party won with a significant majority. After 14 years of Conservative Party rule, a number of changes are now expected in respect of the UK's position on...more
Antitrust and Competition - The European Commission Approves Plan to Unwind a Completed Transaction in the Early Cancer Detection Sector - On 12 April 2024, the European Commission (Commission) approved the plan to unwind a...more
Credit Agricole SA, the second-largest bank in France, will no longer participate in fossil fuel financing. Specifically, a spokesperson for this bank stated that it would “no longer participate in bond issuances for oil and...more
The Council of the European Union adopted a regulation on the reduction of methane emissions in the energy sector (Regulation). Methane is the second-biggest cause of climate change after carbon dioxide, and in the short term...more
This week, “BNP Paribas SA, the European Union's biggest bank” stated that it “is no longer participating in conventional bond issuance for” “oil and gas producers.” In essence, BNP Paribas has announced that it will cease...more
Greenwashing Beef Production - On February 28, New York State Attorney General (NYAG) Letitia James filed a lawsuit with the New York Supreme Court against meat processing company JBS USA for misleading the public about its...more
On 22 February 2024, the UK government confirmed the UK’s withdrawal from the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT), blaming a failure of efforts to modernise the treaty and align it with net zero aims. The UK joins nine EU member...more
The 28th Conference of the Parties (or “COP28”) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (“UNFCCC”) at Expo City in Dubai has ended with an agreement described by COP28 president Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber as “historic”...more
COP28 President Sultan Al-Jaber convened a small group discussion on Sunday to discuss outstanding issues on adaptation and equitable transitions ahead of updated draft texts. A new round of draft texts is expected on Monday...more
The UK has announced that it will review its membership of the Energy Charter Treaty (the “ECT” or “Treaty”) if there is no agreement on modernisation by November 2023. This announcement comes after a second vote on...more
Geography—as much as geology—is driving commercial activity and opportunities for mining & metals firms as decarbonization accelerates - The old adage—credited to J. Paul Getty—goes, "The meek shall inherit the Earth, but...more
GOP Attorneys General Sue Labor Department Over ESG Rule - “GOP senators, joined by Manchin, oppose the new rule, which gives asset managers more freedom.” Why this is important: The article describes reaction to...more
In June 2022, the Contracting Parties to the Energy Charter Treaty ("ECT") announced an agreement in principle on the text of a modernized treaty. This modernization may have material consequences for state regulation and...more
Talks between the U.S. and Iran to revitalize the nuclear deal may have stalled but they are far from dead. There is still optimism that the agreement to limit Iran’s ability to make weapons-grade uranium, in return for a...more
Since the execution of the Maastricht Treaty in 1992 that led to the establishment of the Euro single currency, different European Union countries have faced issues meeting the Treaty’s requirements to maintain the currency,...more
The European Parliament has now "endorsed labeling some gas and nuclear energy projects as 'green.'" This designation will now enable these energy projects to have "access to hundreds of billions of euros in cheap loans and...more
The European Commission (the Commission) presented on 18 May 2022 details of its plan to repower Europe and to reduce, and ultimately end, Europe’s reliance on Russian fossil fuels (the REPowerEU Plan or the Plan) that was...more
Past and current investor-state disputes relating to the energy transition may provide valuable lessons for what lies ahead. The global energy sector is transitioning from fossil fuels to increased use of renewable energy....more
On 15 March 2022, the EU expanded its asset freeze list, adding fifteen individuals and nine entities. It prohibits investments into the Russian energy sector, while carving out activities necessary for essential supplies to...more
The 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) produced some breakthrough pledges, a draft rulebook for an international carbon market, and some big aspirations. The agreement reflects a much more robust approach...more
In December 2020, the Norwegian government approved funding the $1.6 billion Northern Lights project led by Norway’s Equinor, Anglo-Dutch Shell and France’s Total. Northern Lights is the transportation and storage element of...more