For more than 200 years, the Lower Hackensack River (“River”) has been a hub for industrial operations in and around Bergen and Hudson Counties. More recently, concentrations of various contaminants in excess of EPA cleanup standards have been found in the sediment lying on the riverbed. According to EPA, concentrations of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (“PAHs”), polychlorinated
Business and Human rights: Investors call on the UK Government to mandate human rights and environmental due diligence
The expectation for businesses to conduct human rights and environmental due diligence (“HREDD“) is increasingly becoming mandated by legislators across the globe. As discussed in our earlier blog post, mandatory HREDD obligations are already in-place across Europe, including in France, Germany and Norway, whilst the EU is expected to adopt the draft Corporate Sustainability and Due Diligence Directive – which sets out a proposed mandatory HREDD standard – in 2023. Although the UK Government has announced its intention to introduce a new Modern Slavery Bill (see pages 83 to 84 of the Queen’s Speech briefing, published on 10 May 2022), the UK Government has not indicated that it intends to follow Europe’s lead in introducing a UK-level mandatory HREDD law.
As a result, in September 2022, 47 companies, investors, business associations and initiatives operating in the UK published a joint statement calling on the UK Government to “introduce a new legal requirement for companies and investors to carry out human rights and environmental due diligence“. This follows calls, in August 2022, from a group of 39 investors for the UK Government to bring forward a ‘Business, Human Rights and Environment Act’ to mandate all companies operating in the UK to conduct HREDD.
UK Government Announces Review of Net Zero Target
The outcome of the review may signal what climate-related laws and policies to expect in the UK in the coming years.
By Paul A. Davies, Michael D. Green, and James Bee
On 8 September 2022, newly appointed UK Prime Minister Liz Truss announced that Chris Skidmore MP, a Member of Parliament and former minister of energy and clean growth, would lead a review into the UK’s net zero commitment.
The previous administration established a UK target in 2019 to bring all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to a net zero level by 2050, in response to a recommendation from the Committee on Climate Change (the UK’s independent climate advisory body). The new Prime Minister, who during her leadership campaign had stated that she will “double down” on the UK’s attempts to meet its 2050 target, appointed Skidmore with the mandate to find the “fastest and most efficient way” to reach the target.
Skidmore, who as energy and clean growth minister signed the UK’s net zero target into law in 2019, has been given until the end of 2022 to report back with his findings.
New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission Issues Guidance on “Workplace Impairment” Determinations
By Jennifer L. Mora and Frederick T. Smith
Seyfarth Synopsis: As previously reported here, on February 22, 2021, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed the “New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act” (CREAMMA), which amended the New Jersey Constitution to legalize recreational cannabis.
The law allows employers to conduct numerous
Shale Law Weekly Review—Week of September 26, 2022
Hydraulic Fracturing: Delaware River Basin Hydraulic Fracturing Moratorium Upheld
On September 16, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued an opinion affirming that a coalition of Pennsylvania state legislators did not have standing to challenge the Delaware River Basin Commission’s moratorium on natural gas extraction. Yaw, et al. v. Del.
California Appeals Board Gender Diversity Loss
Quota for number of female board directors unconstitutional
Understanding the Basics of Livestock Market Regulation Webinar
On September 23, 2022, from 12 noon – 1:00 ET, the Penn State Center for Agricultural and Shale Law, alongside the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Business Development Center presented the latest webinar in our new educational series, “Understanding Agricultural Law.” This session in our series is entitled, “Understanding the Basics of Livestock Market Regulation.”
Bloomberg Targets Petrochemicals — How About Investing in Their Replacements?
I’ve written previously about the urgency associated with the problems caused by waste plastic. However, there’s a big difference between me blogging about it and Michael Bloomberg opening his wallet to try to do something about it. And the news this week was that Michael Bloomberg is putting $85 million into a new “Beyond
Greenberg Traurig Represents Clēnera on Construction and Tax Equity Financing for the 105 MW DC Apex Solar Project
Global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP helped client Clēnera to close on construction and tax equity financing for the 105 MW DC Apex Solar project located in Beaverhead County, Montana. The deal team was led by Jeffrey A. Chester, co-head of the firm’s Energy Project Finance & Development Practice, and John Eliason,
A New Approach to Executory Contracts? Fifth Circuit Opens the Door for the Functional Approach
In a decision holding that surety bonds are not executory contracts, the Fifth Circuit signaled that courts may in the future utilize the functional approach to determine if multiparty contracts are executory in nature. The case, filed in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Louisiana as In re Falcon V, L.L.C.
