On July 14, the European Commission presented its legislative proposal for a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (“CBAM”). This long-anticipated tool is intended to make importers pay for the greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions embedded in the covered goods that they market in the EU. A Covington webinar on the main elements of the proposal and related
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EPA Opportunities for Post-Pandemic Pesticide Policy Improvements
The easing of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States, with 67.7% of adults having at least one vaccine shot, provides the Biden Administration’s EPA with a unique opportunity to take stock of its pandemic response and consider any potential policy improvements that could be made. This post focuses on two particular issues: (1)
Win-Win Solutions for Clean Water, from Wisconsin to Washington, D.C.
This is the twenty-third in our series, “The ABCs of the AJP.”
President Biden’s American Jobs Plan (AJP) proposed $111 billion of investments into improvements in drinking water and wastewater management systems across the United States. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework that the President endorsed last week would provide just about half of that amount –
Qualifying Carbon Capture and Storage under 45Q: How Biden’s Infrastructure Plan and Congressional Action May Provide a Realistic Role for CCS in Achieving Net Zero
This post is the 17th in our series, “The ABCs of the AJP.”
President Biden’s American Jobs Plan (AJP) sends strong signals in support of carbon capture and sequestration as an important tool to achieve the President’s ambitious decarbonization objectives.
New EU Restrictions on Single-Use Plastic Products to Enter into Force
As of July 3, single-use plastic products marketed in the EU/EEA must comply with the requirements and restrictions of Directive 2019/904 on the Reduction of the Impact of Certain Plastic Products on the Environment (“Single-Use Plastic Directive” – “SUPD”). To help Member States implement the SUPD into their national laws and apply its
FERC Policy on GHG Impact of Gas Pipelines on Climate Still in Flux
In two recent certificate orders issued on May 20, 2021, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) did not assess the significance of the greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions of natural gas pipeline projects in terms of their contribution to climate change. This seems to be a step back from a March, 2021 order, which indicated that
Optimism Abounds for Offshore Wind
This is the fifteenth in our series on “The ABCs of the AJP.”
Historically, offshore wind has made up a very small percentage of America’s total electricity generation portfolio. The winds of change are blowing, though, as the Biden Administration’s American Jobs Plan (“AJP”), among other federal actions, signals a new commitment to harnessing this
The EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive Proposal: What Companies Need to Know
The European Commission has published a proposal for a Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (2021/0104) (“CSRD”), which forms just one part of a comprehensive package of sustainable finance measures (see our blog here). The Commission has put forward these measures in response to demand for stronger and wider sustainability reporting standards, over and above what
Kids and a Sustainable Future
This is the eleventh in our series on the “ABCs of the AJP.”
America’s kids are the beneficiaries of many of the provisions of President Biden’s Jobs Plan, and several of the proposals would benefit them and their caretakers specifically. Children have become a focus point of discussions about climate change, because absent intervention they
Jumpstarting A Cleaner, More Resilient Economy With Jobs
This is the tenth in our series on “The ABCs of the AJP.”
Jobs, unsurprisingly, are at the heart of the Biden Administration’s ambitious, multi-trillion dollar infrastructure plan. After all, the plan also goes by the name The American Jobs Plan (“AJP”). Each of the sweeping goals of the AJP—from addressing climate change, to developing