The European Commission seeks stakeholders’ feedback until 18 November on its proposal to define cross-border projects in the field of renewable energy generation that would be eligible to receive EU funding under Connecting European Facility instrument.
Continue Reading European Commission Opens Public Consultation to Define Selection Criteria for Renewable Energy Projects Eligible of EU Funding
The UK’s Net Zero Strategy
On 19 October, alongside a number of other important strategy documents (over 2,000 pages in total), the UK Government published its ‘Net-Zero Strategy’ (NZS) which will help achieve the UK’s interim five yearly carbon targets leading up to net-zero by 2050.
Continue Reading The UK’s Net Zero Strategy
Hydrogen in The UK
In December 2020, the UK PM set out an ambitious 10 Point Plan for a green industrial revolution, one of the key points of which was the production of 5 GW of low carbon hydrogen in the UK by 2030. The Plan envisaged hydrogen playing a key role in decarbonising energy-intensive industries and heavy transport and replacing natural gas in domestic heating.
On 17 August the UK Government published its Hydrogen Strategy (together with a number of associated Consultations), which lays the foundations for the UK’s future hydrogen economy and sets out how the UK Government will support innovation and stimulate investment in low carbon hydrogen to meet its 5GW target.Continue Reading Hydrogen in The UK
D.C. Circuit Requires Further Consideration of Social Cost of Carbon in NEPA Analysis
The D.C. Circuit issued a decision in Vecinos para el Bienestar de la Comunidad Costera v. FERC, which faulted FERC for failing to consider whether the social cost of carbon (SCC) is a “generally accepted” analytical tool for assessing the significance of greenhouse gas impacts under NEPA. The decision
Continue Reading D.C. Circuit Requires Further Consideration of Social Cost of Carbon in NEPA Analysis
Not Broken, Simply Unfinished – What’s Next for the AJP?
In wrapping up our three-month long series on the ABCs of the AJP that commenced on Earth Day, we offer some final reflections on the progress and outlook for this monumental public policy initiative.
Continue Reading Not Broken, Simply Unfinished – What’s Next for the AJP?
Zeroing-In on Net-Zero Emissions
This is the twenty-sixth post in our series on “The ABCs of the AJP.”
As we wrap up our blog series on the climate and energy implications of the Biden Administration’s American Jobs Plan (AJP), it is an opportune moment to revisit our journey from A through Z, and reflect on whether the Biden Administration’s proposed investment in infrastructure can set the nation on a path to achieve its 2050 net-zero target.
Continue Reading Zeroing-In on Net-Zero Emissions
Will the EU CBAM Cover More Than What You Think? Complex Goods, System Boundaries, and Circumvention Under the Commission’s CBAM Proposal
On July 14, the European Commission presented its legislative proposal for a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (“CBAM”). This long-anticipated tool is intended to make importers pay for the greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions embedded in the covered goods that they market in the EU. A Covington webinar on the main elements of the proposal and related policy considerations is available here.
Continue Reading Will the EU CBAM Cover More Than What You Think? Complex Goods, System Boundaries, and Circumvention Under the Commission’s CBAM Proposal
FERC Reviewing Rules for Grid of the Future
Driven by the entry of renewable generation resources locating far from load centers and the new demands placed on the grid by their differing characteristics, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) launched a comprehensive review of its policies regarding regional transmission planning, interconnection and cost-allocation. In an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANOPR), the agency requested public comments on its current policies and offered potential areas for reform with a view toward anticipated future generation. According to FERC Chairman Richard Glick, “(a) piecemeal approach to expanding the transmission system is not going to get the job done. We must take steps today to build the transmission that tomorrow’s new generation resources will require.”
Continue Reading FERC Reviewing Rules for Grid of the Future
EPA Opportunities for Post-Pandemic Pesticide Policy Improvements
The easing of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States, with 67.7% of adults having at least one vaccine shot, provides the Biden Administration’s EPA with a unique opportunity to take stock of its pandemic response and consider any potential policy improvements that could be made. This post focuses
Continue Reading EPA Opportunities for Post-Pandemic Pesticide Policy Improvements
Yellow School Buses and Diesel Electrification
This is the twenty-fifth in our series on the “ABCs of the AJP.”
The American Jobs Plan aims to electrify 20% of the country’s iconic yellow school bus fleet through a new “Clean Buses for Kids” program, alongside a broader effort to replace 50,000 diesel transit vehicles. The move will have important health benefits and assist in the electrification of the heavy duty transportation and freight sectors, which face additional challenges as they seek to decarbonize.
Continue Reading Yellow School Buses and Diesel Electrification