Greenberg Traurig Tampa office Shareholder David Weinstein, Associate Jennifer M. Faggion, and attorney Madeleine Voigt, along with SEER committee members, co-authored the chapter titled “Enforcement and Litigation” in Environment, Energy, and Resources Law: The Year in Review 2023, published by the ABA Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources.
This chapter summarizes significant
The Supreme Court will soon decide whether to hear two cases that could dictate the future of climate change tort suits. Such suits have proliferated in recent years: several dozen active cases assert state tort law claims—like nuisance, trespass, and strict liability—against oil and gas companies for fueling and misleading the public about climate change. The two pending cases go to the very foundations of these claims.
The joint policy statement and principles provide integrity standards for carbon credits that both the US government and participants in the voluntary carbon market should aim to follow.
By Jean-Philippe Brisson, Michael Dreibelbis, Tal Carmeli, and Phil Goldberg
On May 28, 2024, the Biden Administration released the Voluntary Carbon Markets Joint Policy Statement and Principles for Responsible Participation in Voluntary Carbon Markets (the VCM Policy). The VCM Policy is co-signed by US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen, US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm, International Climate Policy Senior Advisor John Podesta, National Economic Advisor Lael Brainard, and National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi.
The VCM Policy represents the executive branch of the US government’s position with respect to the role of the voluntary carbon market (VCM) in supporting decarbonization efforts in the United States and globally. This announcement is significant and timely because it was released at a time when some have questioned whether voluntary carbon credits are an appropriate tool for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
On May 28, the Biden-Harris Administration issued the Voluntary Carbon Markets Joint Policy Statement and Principles (Policy Statement). You can find Covington’s analysis of the Policy Statement here. Jointly announced by the U.S. Secretaries of Treasury, Agriculture, and Energy, and senior White House climate officials, the Policy Statement describes a three-pronged approach to responsible carbon market development and participation: (1) credit or supply integrity, including protections regarding climate and environmental justice; (2) demand integrity, to ensure the credible use of credits; and (3) market-level integrity, including facilitating efficient market participation and lowering transaction costs. The Policy Statement builds on other recent federal actions, including the Commodities Futures Trading Commission’s 2023 proposed guidance for voluntary carbon credit derivatives and the Securities and Exchange Commission’s final climate risk disclosure rule, which requires certain disclosures related to carbon offset purchases, in the Administration’s attention to and elevation of the voluntary carbon market as an important element in the nation’s climate policy.
In this post, we dive deeper into the voluntary carbon market landscape, implications for business, and additional recent developments.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final rule on May 17, 2024, updating the list of chemicals subject to reporting under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) and the Pollution Prevention Act (PPA). EPA’s final rule adds seven per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) list
The 2024 Chambers USA Guide recognized the Environmental Practice of global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP on its nationwide list of the top 31 environment practices in the country.
“This really is a continuing signal of achievement of over 100 lawyers in our practice group, each of whom contributes to all of these rankings,” Practice
Avian Influenza: USDA Announces Additional Funding, New Voluntary Bulk Milk Testing Pilot Program
On May 30, 2024, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that the agency is providing an additional $824 million in funding and resources to address and prevent the spread of H5N1 (Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A) in livestock and poultry. Additionally,
Lateral moves for lawyers at every level have been on the rise post-pandemic, and don’t appear to be slowing down—and that includes for young lawyers. While there are numerous resources and advice articles for attorneys navigating an individual lateral move, there is far less guidance for associates about how to best navigate a move to
Action
On May 28, 2024, the U.S. Departments of Treasury, Agriculture, Energy, and White House representatives published a joint Policy Statement on voluntary carbon markets (VCMs). The Policy Statement sets out seven principles to guide engagement with VCMs, and the principles are designed to ensure that VCMs are effective, fair, and equitable, and instill market
“It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.” Yogi Berra and Lenny Kravitz
In a unanimous opinion filed on June 6, 2024, the California Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the First District Court of Appeal in the controversial “People’s Park” case, thus upholding the Regents’ 2021 Long-Range Development Plan (LRDP) EIR and clearing the legal path for UC Berkeley’s residential development at the People’s Park site. Make UC A Good Neighbor v. Regents of University of California (2024) 16 Cal.5th 43. (My prior posts on the Court of Appeal’s decision and the Supreme Court’s grant of review in this case can be found here (3/3/23 post) and here (5/21/23 post).)