On May 29, the California Air Resources Board (“CARB”) held a virtual public workshop to discuss forthcoming regulations to implement SB 253 and SB 261, landmark California laws that require many corporate entities to disclose their greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions and climate-related financial risk. CARB affirmed the existing statutory deadlines…

Continue Reading Key Takeaways From California Air Resources Board’s Public Workshop on Implementing California Climate Disclosure Laws SB 253 and SB 261

On May 12, the Federal Register put on public inspection a group of 42 proposed and final rules from the Department of Energy.  The rules cover a wide variety of topics, ranging from energy efficiency standards to biofuel production to the conditions attached to grants from the Department.  Many of…

Continue Reading Department of Energy Rulemakings Show What’s in Store under Trump’s Deregulatory Initiative

The exploding demand for energy to power hyperscaler data centers is leading to consideration of co-locating new generation (nuclear or otherwise) and data centers.  As we explained in Part 1 of this blog, co-location is attractive to hyperscalers because of its potential to provide those data centers with contractually…

Continue Reading Will the Trump Administration Clear a Path through the FERC Regulatory Thicket for the Co-Location of Data Centers with Nuclear Generation? (Part 2 of 2)

During his first week in office, President Trump issued Executive Orders on Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence, Declaring a National Energy Emergency, and Unleashing American Energy.  On February 14, he issued another Executive Order, Establishing the National Energy Dominance Council.  He has also…

Continue Reading Will the Trump Administration Clear a Path through the Nuclear Regulatory Thicket for the Co-Location of Data Centers with Nuclear Generation? (Part 1 of 2)

On January 14, 2025, the Biden Administration issued an Executive Order on “Advancing United States Leadership in Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure” (the “EO”), with the goals of preserving U.S. economic competitiveness and access to powerful AI models, preventing U.S. dependence on foreign infrastructure, and promoting U.S. clean energy production to power…

Continue Reading Biden Administration Releases Executive Order on AI Infrastructure

With the 119th Congress now assembled, Republicans control both the House and Senate, and will control the White House starting on January 20th.  If history is any guide, this change in party control of the White House, plus unified control of Congress by the president’s party, will pave the way for Republicans to deploy the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to overturn a number of regulations issued by the Biden Administration.  When President Trump first took office in 2017, congressional Republicans used the CRA to overturn more than a dozen rules promulgated by the Obama Administration.   Continue Reading Biden Administration Rulemakings at Risk for Congressional Review Act Cancellation in New Congress

The European Union has recently published a new (recast) Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive (“UWWTD”) in the EU’s official journal.  The UWWTD imposes important new Extended Producer Responsibility (“EPR”) obligations that will have a significant financial and administrative impact on companies marketing human medicines and cosmetic products in the…

Continue Reading The EPR Obligations of the New Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive: Key Questions and Next Steps for Member States

On Monday, December 16, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) issued an information solicitation inviting feedback on the implementation of SB 253 and SB 261. Comments are due by February 14, 2025. This information request arrives on the heels of a new CARB enforcement advisory focused on SB 253. Continue Reading California Air Resources Board Solicits Stakeholder Feedback on Implementation of Climate Disclosure Laws on the Heels of New Enforcement Advisory  

In late September, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (Commission or CFTC) approved final guidance regarding the listing of voluntary carbon credit (VCC) derivative contracts on CFTC-regulated designated contract markets (Final Guidance).  Commission observers had anticipated issuance of the Final Guidance for several months, as it follows proposed guidance issued by CFTC in December 2023.  The Final Guidance also follows the Biden Administration’s Joint Policy Statement on Voluntary Carbon Market Principles, discussed in our post earlier this year.  The Final Guidance, while applicable to derivative (or futures) contracts, represents the first official action by a U.S. regulator to help validate the integrity of the VCCs underlying such contracts.  In this vein, as the derivative contract and underlying VCC markets continue to expand and evolve, the Final Guidance may represent an integrity backstop of sorts for U.S. VCC market participants.   Continue Reading CFTC Guidance: A Potential Integrity Backstop for Evolving Voluntary Carbon Market

On October 10, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED) hosted a webinar providing an overview of the recently issued Notice of Intent (NOI) to award up to $1.8 billion in funding for new mid- and large-scale commercial direct air capture (DAC) facilities.  The NOI represents the start of the next phase of OCED’s Regional DAC Hubs program contemplated by the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), which requires DOE to financially support the development of at least four regional DAC hubs.  DOE estimates that a net-zero emissions economy will require annually removing and capturing at least 400 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and emissions sources.  A critical step in reaching this benchmark will be accelerating the commercialization and scaling of promising DAC solutions which is the goal of this next phase of the Regional DAC Hubs program.  The NOI promises publication of the funding opportunity announcement before the end of this year.Continue Reading DOE Announces up to $1.8 Billion in Funding in Next Phase of Regional Direct Air Capture Program