Developments in law and policy of energy, commodities and environment
Notice 2023-9, “Section 45W Commercial Clean Vehicles and Incremental Cost for 2023”
Concurrent with the white paper and Notice 2023-1, discussed in a separate blog, on December 29, 2022, the IRS released Notice 2023-9, which provides a safe harbor for determining the incremental cost of qualified commercial clean vehicles for the section…
The Greenhouse Gas Protocol (“GHG Protocol” or “Protocol”)—a leading standard setter for measuring and managing corporate greenhouse gas emissions, borne of a partnership between World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)—has opened stakeholder surveys concerning the revision of its Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard, Guidance on Scope 2 Emissions,…
On August 16, 2022, President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) into law, directing a record $370 billion toward clean energy investments.
Yesterday, the White House released a 182-page guidebook to the IRA entitled Building a Clean Economy. John Podesta, Senior Advisor to the President for Clean Energy Innovation and Implementation, explains in…
On December 14, 2022, during an open Commission meeting, the Federal Trade Commission voted unanimously to issue a Federal Register notice requesting comments on the efficacy of the Green Guides. The initial request for comments seeks input on whether to retain, modify, or rescind the Guides. The notice was published in late December, marking the…
Today, the IRS released Revenue Procedure 2022-42 to address the reporting requirements for vehicle manufacturers and sellers. These reporting requirements are prerequisites for purchasers’ eligibility for clean vehicle tax credits under Sections 25E, 30D, and 45W. Section 30D(d)(3) requires that a manufacturer enter into a written agreement to become a qualified manufacturer, which requires periodic…
The European Union (“EU”) has passed the world’s most far-reaching mandatory environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) reporting regime.
The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (“CSRD”) will apply to an initial group of large EU companies from 2024 and gradually extend its reach to smaller companies over the course of the following four years. It is ultimately…
As noted in our COP27 recap, this year’s climate summit in Sharm el-Sheik involved both the historic creation of a fund to compensate countries most impacted by climate change, as well as lost opportunities to adopt more ambitious and accelerated climate mitigation commitments. Perhaps hidden between these headlines, President Biden announced an initiative with…
The United Nations annual climate change conference—officially known as the 27th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (“UNFCCC”), or COP27 for short—held in Sharm el Sheik, Egypt, finally concluded early Sunday morning. COP27 was held amidst the ongoing Russian war in Ukraine and its consequent economic turmoil, as well…
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…
