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

Companies that do business in California and meet certain revenue thresholds should continue to prepare to comply with the state’s landmark climate disclosure laws that impose reporting deadlines starting in 2026, even as a newly enacted state law gives California regulators more time and flexibility in promulgating implementing regulations.

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 219 (SB 219) into law on September 27, 2024, making modest amendments to California’s two signature climate disclosure laws, SB 253 and SB 261, enacted in October 2023. SB 253, or the Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act, requires reporting entities to publicly disclose their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions beginning in 2026 for Scope 1 and 2 emissions, and 2027 for Scope 3. SB 261, the Climate-Related Financial Risk Act, requires covered entities to publish biennial reports, beginning in January 2026, that disclose climate-related financial risk and measures adopted to reduce and adapt to that risk.Continue Reading California Climate Disclosure Laws’ Compliance Timeline Remains Stable While New Amendments Give State Regulator More Time and Flexibility

In March this year, the European Commission adopted the Delegated Act on a common rating scheme for data centers (“Delegated Act”) in the European Union (“EU”).  The Delegated Act implements the Energy Efficiency Directive (“EED”) and details the energy key performance indicators (“KPI”) that data center operators must report to the European database on data centers (“European database”), how to calculate them, and to what extent this information will be publicly disclosed. Continue Reading New Sustainability Reporting Requirements for Data Centers in the EU

On August 2, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or Commission) issued a notice of a Commissioner-led technical conference this fall to discuss issues related to co-locating large loads, such as data centers, at generating facilities. A supplemental notice will be issued with the date and time of the technical conference, as well as further details regarding the agenda.  As transformative developments in artificial intelligence drive increasing power demand for data centers, the August 2 notice signals that the Commission has begun to contemplate new policies regarding the use of facilities connected to the FERC-regulated transmission grid to meet this demand.  The technical conference will be a significant opportunity for interested parties to highlight various benefits or concerns regarding such arrangements to the Commission.Continue Reading As Interest Grows, FERC Announces Technical Conference Regarding Co-Locating Data Centers

On May 29, 2024, the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) and the IRS released proposed rules for the section 45Y clean electricity production tax credit (“Section 45Y Credit”) and the section 48E clean electricity investment tax credit (“Section 48E Credit”).  These credits are informally referred to as tech-neutral credits because they do not specify particular technologies eligible for credits, unlike the existing production and investment tax credits.  Below we summarize certain important provisions in these proposed rules and some of their implications for project finance for constructing facilities with net-zero greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions, such as a need for emissions accounting and monitoring. Comments are due on August 2, 2024, and a public hearing is scheduled to be held on August 12 and 13.Continue Reading When Is the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Rate Not Greater Than Zero?  Proposed Regulations on the Tech-Neutral Credits Provide Clarification

The Supreme Court will soon decide whether to hear two cases that could dictate the future of climate change tort suits.  Such suits have proliferated in recent years: several dozen active cases assert state tort law claims—like nuisance, trespass, and strict liability—against oil and gas companies for fueling and misleading the public about climate change.  The two pending cases go to the very foundations of these claims.Continue Reading Supreme Court Receives Filings with Key Implications for Climate Change Tort Suits