Offshore Drilling: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Publish Proposed Final Program for Lease Sales in Gulf of Mexico
On October 2, 2023, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), DOI, published a Notice of Availability for the 2024-2029 National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Proposed Final Program (PFP) and Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement
First-in-the-Nation Climate Disclosure Bills Become Law In California
On October 7, 2023 California Governor Gavin Newsom signed two landmark climate disclosure laws aimed at making major companies publicly disclose their greenhouse gas emissions and report on their climate-related financial risks. The first, the Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act (SB 253), will require all business entities with an annual revenue exceeding $1 billion to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions in a format accessible to the public. The second, SB 261, will require all business entities with annual revenue exceeding $500 million to publish a report on their “climate-related financial risks” on their websites. These first-in-the-nation laws are broader than the proposed SEC climate disclosure rule and reach more than just California-based entities.
EPA Continues Its Phasedown of HFCs
The agency’s two recent actions introduce enhanced restrictions on hydrofluorocarbons and provide a series of compliance dates for industry stakeholders.
By Stacey VanBelleghem and Jennifer Garlock
On October 5, 2023, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued two rules, one final and one proposed, to phase down hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) under the bipartisan American Innovation and Manufacturing Act of 2020 (AIM Act). The agency’s recent actions represent major steps in the Biden administration’s goal to significantly reduce HFCs over the next decade.
HFCs are a group of chemical refrigerants and potent greenhouse gasses (GHGs), commonly used in foam products, cooling systems, aerosols, and fire suppressants. International focus on managing these compounds sharpened in the 1980s, when countries agreed in the Montreal Protocol to shift global markets away from the ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) — the then dominant strain of refrigerant and aerosol chemicals — toward HFCs. Although HFCs are less damaging to the ozone layer than CFCs, they have global warming potential (GWP) values (a figure that allows comparison of relative climate impact of a GHG) hundreds or thousands times higher than carbon dioxide (CO2), which has a GWP equal to 1. In 2016, nearly 200 countries adopted the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol agreeing to a global phasedown of production and use of HFCs. The US ratified that amendment on October 31, 2022.
Disclosure Framework on UK Transition Plans
In 2021, at COP 26, the UK Government announced its intention that the UK would become the world’s first net zero aligned financial centre. It also launched the Transition Plan Task Force (“TPT”) with a view to producing a Gold Standard Disclosure Framework for transition plans.
Last week, the TPT published its Disclosure
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—October 16, 2023
Agricultural Labor: Supreme Court Denies Case to Apply FLSA ‘Agricultural Exemption’ to On-Farm Construction
On October 2, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court denied a petition for certiorari in a case questioning whether a company must pay overtime to H-2A employees who construct on-farm livestock confinement facilities or whether those employees are exempted from Fair Labor
Tenants Monetizing their Greenhouse Gas Emission Data
The surge in BEPS and similar laws is all but weaponizing that data, putting a target on the back of building owners
Department of Energy Chooses Seven Regions for $7 Billion in Hydrogen Hubs Funding
This morning, the Department of Energy decided how it will allocate up to $7 billion of Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (“BIL”) funding set aside for establishing regional Hydrogen Hubs. (For more information on the Hubs, see our post HERE).
The funding could be critical to jump-starting the country’s clean hydrogen economy. It will support projects
New York Regulator Releases Draft Policy to Implement Environmental Justice Provisions of NY Climate Law
On Sept. 27, 2023, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) released a draft policy (DEP-23-1) to implement the environmental justice provisions of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), New York’s blueprint to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The policy is open for public comment until Nov. 27, 2023.
UK Transition Plan Taskforce Launches Full Disclosure Framework
The framework claims to set the “gold standard” for companies to contribute to the net zero transition while emphasising ambition, action, and accountability.
By Paul A. Davies, Michael D. Green, and James Bee
The UK Transition Plan Taskforce (TPT) launched its transition plan disclosure framework (the Framework) at the London Stock Exchange on 9 October 2023. The Framework encourages businesses to create transition plans for a low greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions economy. It also seeks to help companies and financial institutions create consistent and comparable disclosures on their climate transition plans.
While initially voluntary, the Framework is expected to become mandatory for certain entities in the UK through incorporation into regulatory frameworks.
Frequently Asked Questions About EPA’s Expansive PFAS Reporting Rule under the Toxic Substances Control Act
On October 11, 2023, EPA released its final rule imposing detailed reporting requirements on entities that have manufactured or imported PFAS for commercial purposes. Notably, the reporting rule also applies to importers of articles containing PFAS, which could include many consumer, industrial, and commercial products, and requires reporting on PFAS as a component of a mixture. This rule is more expansive in scope than most rules under TSCA, and it will impact many companies that may be unfamiliar with TSCA. In this post, we provide responses to frequently asked questions about the new rule.