COP21 - The Road to Paris 2015

Europe is stepping up enforcement of its climate change rules against foreign airlines.  Recently, a Belgian authority competent for the enforcement of the EU Emissions Trading System (“ETS”) on airlines flying to and from Brussels, collected a fine of €1.4 million.  The fine was imposed on Saudi Arabian Airlines for…
Continue Reading The Road to Paris 2015: EU Emissions Trading Scheme and its Application to Non-EEA Airlines – Enforcement on the Rise?

Climate change was high in the agenda of the G7 Summit that concluded in Germany yesterday.  After years of failing to agree on a binding global action plan to limit the impact of climate change, the seven most industrialized countries of the world expressed their strong determination to reach a…
Continue Reading The Road to Paris 2015: The G7 Declaration on Climate Change — Will It Make a Difference?

The Council of Environment Ministers of the European Union has approved the EU’s Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (“INDC”) in anticipation of the COP 21 of the UNFCCC in Paris in December 2015.  At COP 21, the UNFCCC contracting parties are expected to agree on a new international legal agreement…
Continue Reading The Road to Paris 2015: The EU Commits to a 40% Reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emissions as Part of its INDC to the UNFCCC COP 21

On February 25, 2015, the European Commission presented three communications on:

  1. a Framework Strategy for a Resilient Energy Union with a Forward-Looking Climate Change Policy;
  2. Achieving the 10% Electricity Interconnection Target: Making Europe’s Electricity Grid Fit for 2010; and
  3. The Paris Protocol: A Blueprint for Tackling Global Climate

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Continue Reading The Road to Paris 2015: The European Commission Announces its Initiatives to Achieve a European Energy Union and an International Climate Change Deal

As has been widely reported, on November 12 President Obama and China’s President Xi Jinping released a joint announcement on climate change and clean energy cooperation.  Beyond the announced greenhouse gas emission targets—for the U.S., to reduce emissions 26-28% below 2005 levels by 2025; for China, (i) to peak CO2…
Continue Reading The Road to Paris 2015: Contrasting Media Perspectives on the US-China Accord on Climate Change and Clean Energy

Last Thursday, the 28 Heads of State of the European Union meeting at the European Council reached a political agreement on the EU’s climate and energy framework for 2030.  The compromise is intended to send a signal in anticipation of the next United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (“UNFCCC”)…
Continue Reading The Road to Paris 2015: European Council Deal on Future Climate Change and Energy Policy