Developments in law and policy of energy, commodities and environment
Background
Later this week the Department of the Treasury is expected to release guidance on the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)’s EV tax credit under section 30D of the Internal Revenue Code. Highly consequential for the guidance and practical availability of the credit will be how Treasury interprets the term “foreign entity of concern.” This is…
On March 17, 2023, a law school clinic submitted to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) a sixty-day notice of intent to sue letter, setting forth various entities’ intent to sue the EPA for its alleged failure to perform various non-discretionary duties under the Noise Control Act of 1972 (the “Act”).
The Act has…
As part of “A Green Deal Industrial Plan for the Net Zero Age” to respond to the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) (see our alert), the European Commission (the “Commission”) adopted on 9 March 2023 its Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework for State Aid measures to support the economy following the aggression…
On March 3, 2023, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) published a memorandum requiring states to evaluate the cybersecurity of operational technology used by public water systems (“PWSs”) “when conducting PWS sanitary surveys or through other state programs.” EPA’s memorandum “interprets the regulatory requirements relating to the conduct of sanitary surveys to require that…
On February 21, 2023, the Federal Highway Administration (“FHWA”) published a Notice of Waiver for Buy America requirements related to Electric Vehicle (“EV”) Chargers, 88 Fed. Reg. 10619. This waiver notice follows the Notice of Proposed Waiver published by FHWA on August 31, 2022. See 87 Fed. Reg. 53539. In response to a robust…
The European Union (“EU”) is coming closer to adopting mandatory rules for companies that use carbon credits.
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On February 14, 2023, EPA released a compliance advisory regarding pesticide devices regulated under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (“FIFRA”). EPA released the advisory in response to “substantial non-compliance with FIFRA in the device and pesticide marketplace. Examples of non-compliance include unregistered pesticides claiming to be devices, devices bearing false and misleading statements,…
The EU’s Green Deal Industrial Plan for the Net-Zero Age
The US Inflation Reduction Act (the IRA) has raised concerns in the EU about the potential impact on international investment – particularly the possibility that such investment will be pulled into the US, rather than directed to the EU and may encourage ‘green industries’ to…
The European Parliament and Council are about to adopt an agreed text on a Regulation on Batteries and Waste Batteries (“Sustainable Batteries Regulation” or “SBR”) that will impose a broad range of requirements on the safety, sustainability and circularity of batteries, including batteries that are part of devices (e.g., laptop batteries), industrial batteries (e.g., large…
On 19 December 2022, the parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) decided to create a new global mechanism requiring the private sector to pay into a new Global Biodiversity Trust Fund.
The new fund is expected to generate up to 15 billion USD per year, based on contributions from companies that “use…
