Upon passing the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (H.R. 3684) last week, the Senate provided significant funding towards development of the nation’s environmental and energy infrastructure. The Infrastructure Act also streamlines environmental review, permitting, and approval of federal infrastructure projects.
The Infrastructure Act includes funding for:
In December 2020, the UK PM set out an ambitious 10 Point Plan for a green industrial revolution, one of the key points of which was the production of 5 GW of low carbon hydrogen in the UK by 2030. The Plan envisaged hydrogen playing a key role in decarbonising energy-intensive industries and heavy transport
Another much-anticipated and likely controversial proposed regulation would establish a CBAM for certain imports. The Commission presented it as a measure to ensure that ambitious climate action in Europe does not lead to “carbon leakage” by pushing carbon-intensive production out of the single European market but contribute to a global emissions decline by encouraging the
The D.C. Circuit issued a decision in Vecinos para el Bienestar de la Comunidad Costera v. FERC, which faulted FERC for failing to consider whether the social cost of carbon (SCC) is a “generally accepted” analytical tool for assessing the significance of greenhouse gas impacts under NEPA. The decision is likely to result in
EPA recently issued an Enforcement Alert to owners and operators of metal recycling facilities about high levels of VOC emissions that have been identified at a number of large shredders. The issue of VOC emissions from metal shredders has not previously been well known or understood. EPA is now publicly acknowledging the issue and, finally,
by Fred Breedlove
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (“Reclamation”) published its August 2021 24-Month Study on Monday, effectively declaring a shortage on the Colorado River for the Lower Colorado River Basin. The August study predicts that the elevation of Lake Mead at Hoover Dam will continue to be below 1,075 feet (the level that triggers
As another key component of the Fit for 55 package, the Commission made a proposal to amend Directive 2018/2001 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources (RED II) and related legal acts.
The revision would increase the overall binding target for renewable energy in the EU energy mix from the current
As part of the Fit for 55 package, the Commission presented a proposal to revise Directive 2003/87 establishing a system for GHG emission allowance trading within the EU, as well as related legal acts.
According to the Commission’s Explanatory Memorandum, ensuring continued effective protection for the sectors exposed to a significant risk of carbon leakage
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: