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
California Air Resources Board Solicits Stakeholder Feedback on Implementation of Climate Disclosure Laws on the Heels of New Enforcement Advisory
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
California Climate Disclosure Laws’ Compliance Timeline Remains Stable While New Amendments Give State Regulator More Time and Flexibility
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
Engaging in Voluntary Carbon Markets: Overview of Key Developments, Risks, and Opportunities
On May 28, the Biden-Harris Administration issued the Voluntary Carbon Markets Joint Policy Statement and Principles (Policy Statement). You can find Covington’s analysis of the Policy Statement here. Jointly announced by the U.S. Secretaries of Treasury, Agriculture, and Energy, and senior White House climate officials, the Policy Statement describes a three-pronged approach to responsible carbon market development and participation: (1) credit or supply integrity, including protections regarding climate and environmental justice; (2) demand integrity, to ensure the credible use of credits; and (3) market-level integrity, including facilitating efficient market participation and lowering transaction costs. The Policy Statement builds on other recent federal actions, including the Commodities Futures Trading Commission’s 2023 proposed guidance for voluntary carbon credit derivatives and the Securities and Exchange Commission’s final climate risk disclosure rule, which requires certain disclosures related to carbon offset purchases, in the Administration’s attention to and elevation of the voluntary carbon market as an important element in the nation’s climate policy.
In this post, we dive deeper into the voluntary carbon market landscape, implications for business, and additional recent developments. Continue Reading Engaging in Voluntary Carbon Markets: Overview of Key Developments, Risks, and Opportunities
FERC Issues Order No. 1920 To Accelerate Regional Transmission Planning
On May 13, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or Commission) issued Order No. 1920, the Commission’s long-awaited final rule regarding regional electric transmission planning and cost allocation for future transmission projects on the nation’s interstate electric grid. Order No. 1920 revises key aspects of the Commission’s current regional transmission planning and cost allocation policies, largely adopted in 2011 in Order No. 1000, in an effort to help accelerate the buildout of transmission infrastructure needed to serve the country’s changing resource mix and growing energy demand projections.
The major reforms adopted by FERC in Order No. 1920 center around four key areas: (A) planning horizon; (B) developing planning scenarios; (C) selection of transmission solutions and (D) cost allocation, each discussed in more detail below. At a high level, the rule requires transmission providers to engage in long-term regional transmission planning at least 20 years in advance, use at least seven enumerated benefits for the evaluation and selection of long-term regional transmission facilities, and hold a six-month engagement period for relevant state entities before filing a cost allocation method for a chosen project with FERC. Yet, while the Commission’s overarching goal of Order No. 1920 appears to be the selection of efficient long-term regional transmission solutions by transmission providers, the rule makes no mention of National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors (National Interest Corridors), geographic areas designated by the Department of Energy (DOE) where transmission congestion or constraints have an adverse effect on consumers, and where, in certain circumstances, FERC has siting authority for transmission facilities under the Federal Power Act (FPA). Continue Reading FERC Issues Order No. 1920 To Accelerate Regional Transmission Planning
Biden Administration Publishes Voluntary Carbon Markets Joint Policy Statement and Principles
On May 28, the U.S. Secretaries of Treasury, Agriculture, and Energy, along with senior White House climate officials, issued the Voluntary Carbon Markets Joint Policy Statement and Principles (Policy Statement). The Policy Statement provides observations regarding the current state of voluntary carbon markets, followed by a set of guiding principles for responsible market participation. A White House Fact Sheet describes the Policy Statement as representing the U.S. government’s commitment to advancing the responsible development of voluntary carbon markets, “with clear incentives and guardrails.” Notably, the Fact Sheet states that, with such incentives and guardrails, voluntary carbon markets can drive significant progress toward the Administration’s goals of reaching global net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050 and limiting warming to 1.5 °C.Continue Reading Biden Administration Publishes Voluntary Carbon Markets Joint Policy Statement and Principles
CEQ Final NEPA Regulations and Department of Energy Actions Aim to Responsibly Accelerate Clean Energy, Transmission, and Other Infrastructure Development
On May 1, 2024, the White House Council on Environmental Quality (“CEQ”) published its final “Phase 2” National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”) regulations, formally called the Bipartisan Permitting Reform Implementation Rule (“Final Rule”). Publication of the Final Rule completes a multi-year effort by the Biden Administration that included publication of final, narrower “Phase 1” rule in April 2022. The Final Rule is predominantly consistent with the 2023 proposed rule, which is analyzed in an earlier blog post.
CEQ’s Final Rule is notable in many respects. It advances sound environmental analysis to inform the public and decisionmakers while implementing new efficiencies to help accelerate the environmental permitting process for infrastructure projects, from solar, wind, and transmission lines to federally-funded domestic manufacturing projects. In this regard, the Final Rule is a key component of the Biden Administration’s commitment to advancing domestic infrastructure, including projects aligned with the Biden Administration’s climate and clean goals that are being further propelled by federal grants and tax incentives pursuant to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Continue Reading CEQ Final NEPA Regulations and Department of Energy Actions Aim to Responsibly Accelerate Clean Energy, Transmission, and Other Infrastructure Development
A Week of Climate Action: Spotlight on the Biden-Harris Administration’s Earth Week Regulatory and Grant-Funding Actions
First observed on April 22, 1970, Earth Day has long been recognized as a watershed moment for the modern environmental movement. On that day, over 20 million demonstrators nationwide marched to raise awareness of the need to protect and preserve the environment. The energy generated from that day galvanized the country to action, leading to the creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in December 1970 and the passage of several statutes later that decade—including the Clean Air Act (CAA) the Clean Water Act (CWA), the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)—that serve as the foundation of U.S. environmental legislation. Today, Earth Day is recognized by countries around the world, and has expanded from its initial focus on pollution control to include elevating environmental justice in low-income, disadvantaged, and indigenous communities and promoting domestic and international climate action.
Beginning with a proclamation on April 19 declaring climate change to be “the existential crisis of our time,” the Biden-Harris Administration marked Earth Day and the week after by announcing a suite of final rules and grant programs aimed at fossil fuel abatement and pollution control, accelerating electric transmission grid modernization and solar energy development, and reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the transportation sector. These actions underscore not only the continued “whole-of-government” approach that the Administration has taken to combat climate change but also the urgency with which federal agencies have moved to promulgate final rules and protect them from potential congressional revocation ahead of the Congressional Review Act deadline later this spring.
To assist industries and markets as they evaluate the impact of these final rules and programs, we’ve spotlighted several of these Earth Week regulatory and grant-funding actions.Continue Reading A Week of Climate Action: Spotlight on the Biden-Harris Administration’s Earth Week Regulatory and Grant-Funding Actions
COP28 Final Negotiations Recap: A Global Agreement to Transition Away from Fossil Fuels
What You Need to Know.
- After two days of intense negotiations, world leaders adopted a draft decision that sets out international climate priorities in response to the findings of the first Global Stocktake under the Paris Agreement. The decision covers several thematic areas, including mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions, adaptation and resilience in the face of climate change, financing and means of implementation and support for climate projects, and loss and damage funding for climate-vulnerable nations. The text of the draft decision can be found on the UNFCCC’s website here.
COP28 Day 8 Recap: Empowering Global Youth and a Look Towards Final Negotiations
What You Need to Know.
- The UNFCCC has released a draft text of the negotiated outcome of the first Global Stocktake under the Paris Agreement. The draft text currently includes four options to address the question of “phasing out” versus “phasing down” the use of fossil fuels, with the strongest option’s wording being “[a] phase out of fossil fuels in line with best available science.” Options with weaker wording would call on the Parties to the Paris Agreement to take action towards “phasing out unabated fossil fuels and to rapidly reducing their use so as to achieve net-zero CO2 in energy systems by or around mid-century.”
Continue Reading COP28 Day 8 Recap: Empowering Global Youth and a Look Towards Final Negotiations