COP27 has now come to a close. Against the global backdrop of political and economic turbulence, many questions were asked as to what could realistically be expected as outcomes of COP27. We now have the answers to those questions.
The mining industry was on the losing end of two recent Clean Water Act cases.
Stone v. High Mountain Mining Company, LLC,[1] was decided September 12, 2022, and involved a citizen suit challenge to a placer mine operating without a Clean Water Act (“CWA”) discharge (“NPDES”) permit. High Mountain’s operations
On November 18, 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 webinar on conservation programs as part of our ongoing educational series, “Understanding Agricultural Law.” This session in our series is entitled, “Understanding the Basics of
On 10 November 2022, the EU Parliament adopted the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (“CSRD”). The EU Council is expected to adopt the CSRD on 28 November 2022, after which it will be published in the Official Journal. The CSRD will then enter into force 20 days after publication and EU member states will have 18 months to
There are 40 tons of concrete for every person on the planet and an additional one ton per person is added every year making low embodied concrete a golden opportunity in ESG
From 2024 at the earliest, more European and global companies will need to disclose their ESG activities in greater detail.
By Paul A. Davies, Michael D. Green, and James Bee
On 10 November 2022, the European Parliament adopted a final version of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). The CSRD will require large
State Regulation: PA Governor Signs Bill Granting Tax Subsidies for Natural Gas and Hydrogen Usage in Agriculture
On November 3, 2022, Pennsylvania Governor Wolf signed HB 1059, which grants a tax credit of $0.47 per unit of dry natural gas purchased and used in production of petrochemicals or fertilizer. The law includes a similar
Negotiations over the text of the final Declaration appear to have not progressed significantly since yesterday. The issues holding up progress now are the same issues that had been identified at the outset as key: loss and damage; mitigation gaps (weak NDCs); the $100 billion in climate finance promised to developing countries from 2020; and
COP 27 was electrified yesterday by the speech of President-elect Lula of Brazil. Promising to reverse the deforestation of the Amazon and commenting that Brazil is already a global agricultural giant without the need to clear any more rainforest, he called on wealthy nations to make good on their COP 15 pledge to set aside
Environment and Energy Report (subscription required) had a story today about growing opposition to EPA’s proposal to list two PFAS compounds, PFOA and PFOS, as hazardous substances under CERCLA. 
Here’s what really caught my eye about the opposition. The National Association of Clean Water Agencies opposes the proposal. They think it inconsistent with EPA’s