This is the second of three articles on the Solar Industry and Forced Labor. Here we focus on interactions with solar module suppliers. Our first article in the series focused on regulations in this area, and our next will focus on investors and their requirements.
Delivering a key component of the European Green Deal umbrella policy that it adopted in December 2019, the European Commission issued 15 legislative proposals, accompanied by three non-legislative communications in July 2021. With the supporting documents, e.g. impact assessments, the package adds up to around 4,200 pages. It includes the following initiatives:
Signaling a notable advance in “extended producer responsibility” (EPR) policies, on July 13, Maine became the first U.S. state to require companies to pay fees related to the type and quantity of packaging for products sold in the state, in order to fund state recycling programs. The new law (LD 1541) is the first EPR
by Amanda A. Reeve
Arizona’s Senior U.S. Senator Kyrsten Sinema is credited as being instrumental in negotiating the $1.2 trillion infrastructure package, H.R. 3684, entitled “Investing in a New Vision for the Environment and Surface Transportation in America Act (“INVEST in America Act”), as amended, that passed with bipartisan support (69-30) in
Our Environmental, Safety & Health team is pleased to share with you the latest edition of our monthly newsletter, frESH Law Horizons: Key Developments in UK & EU Environment, Safety and Health Law and Procedure; providing bite-size updates on EU and UK law, procedure and policy.
The updates covered in this month’s edition include (among
Companies are under increasing pressure to do the right thing and to report it through publicly released environmental, social and governance (ESG) data. While investors, regulators, shareholders, customers and other stakeholders often focus on environmental and social matters, from climate change to Black Lives Matter, the Governance prong, the “G” in ESG is key to
The California State Water Resources Control Board (“State Water Board”) has issued an Order to approximately 160 bulk fuel storage terminals and refineries in California requiring implementation of a PFAS site investigation. The State Water Board identified the recipients of the Order on the basis that they had stored and/or used materials that may contain
It’s déjà vu all over again. Over the course of more than thirty years, EPA and industry partners successfully wound down usage of ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) under the Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) in Title VI of the Clean Air Act, enacted following the 1987 Montreal Protocol. Under SNAP, HCFCs and CFCs were largely replaced with hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) in a wide variety of industrial and commercial uses. But while HFCs are much less harmful to the ozone layer, modern science now recognizes HFCs as extremely potent greenhouse gases, and so it has become necessary to replace the replacements. The international community began addressing HFC usage through the 2016 Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, and the United States followed suit with legislation at the end of last year.
The 2020 American Innovation and Manufacturing Act (AIM Act) authorizes EPA to promulgate rules to reduce HFC production and usage to 15% of baseline levels by 2036. The Act comes amidst a flurry of activity related to HFCs, including widespread state regulation and legislation. Recently, the EPA proposed a rule to enact the AIM Act’s provisions by establishing a production and consumption allowance system. Meanwhile, a coalition of state and local governments recently petitioned for rulemaking seeking even more robust action against HFCs. Assertive legislation and rulemaking now looks to force HFCs the way of CFCs.
by Amanda A. Reeve and Lucas J. Narducci
After hosting its 2020 Environmental & Sustainability Summit (“ESS”) virtually due to the COVID Pandemic…after all, what else could keep Phoenicians from fleeing the scorching heat and heading up to the cooler temps of Flagstaff…, the Arizona Manufacturers Council (“AMC”) and the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and
by Luke Narducci, Mike Ford, and Amanda Reeve
On January 9, 2020, the Arizona Center for Law in the Public Interest (“ACLIPI”), on behalf of several individuals, filed with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (“Court”) a Petition for Review (“Petition”) of the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (“EPA”) determination of attainment for