On June 30, 2022, the Supreme Court ruled that the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cannot use the Clean Air Act to require fossil fuel power facilities to implement a measure known as "generation shifting" without...more
On March 21, 2022, in a landmark proposal, the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") proposed rules that would require public companies to disclose extensive climate-related information in their SEC filings....more
3/25/2022
/ Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulation S-K ,
Regulation S-X ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation
On February 15, the White House announced initiatives focused on a "cleaner" industrial sector in the United States. A fact sheet detailing the announcement highlights federal agency actions relating to what the White House...more
To meet project goals, proponents must understand rules related to the environment, species and habitats, and visual and noise impacts - The US offshore wind industry has gained momentum in recent years, and it is poised for...more
Changing regulatory, project finance and transmission dynamics are fueling rapid growth in US offshore wind -
Foreword -
Europe is the leader in offshore wind, with nearly 25 GWs of installed capacity in 2020. Asia...more
This week, as part of a series of significant executive actions, President Biden issued an executive order directing the United States Department of Interior (DOI) to pause new oil and natural gas leasing on federal public...more
1/29/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Bureau of Land Management ,
Climate Change ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Land ,
Federal Leasing Regulations ,
Fossil Fuel ,
Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
Secretary of the Interior ,
Tribal Lands
On January 15, 2021, the US Environmental Protection Agency (the EPA) announced that it approved an application from the State of Texas to administer the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program for...more
The Poseidon Principles Association, a group of major marine shipping banks, released its first Annual Disclosure Report in December 2020. This report discloses the "climate alignment score" of fifteen banks' ship finance...more
Three states and the District of Columbia reached agreement on December 21 to combat climate change by reducing carbon dioxide emissions from the transportation sector via a cap-and-invest system.
Massachusetts, Rhode...more
The Equator Principles have been one of the principal frameworks for managing sustainability and ESG risk in projects by financial institutions since 2003. The latest update – known as EP4 – renews the focus on human rights...more
9/26/2020
/ Acquisitions ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EPFIs ,
Equator Principles ,
Financial Institutions ,
Human Rights ,
OECD ,
Popular ,
Refinancing ,
Sustainable Finance
The Supreme Court ruled on April 23, 2020 that federal law can require a permit for pollutant discharges that travel through groundwater to surface water. The Court’s ruling establishes a new standard by which a Clean Water...more
4/29/2020
/ Appeals ,
Clean Water Act ,
Direct Discharge ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Environmental Violations ,
Functional Equivalent ,
Groundwater ,
Hawaii Wildlife Fund v County of Maui ,
Navigable Waters ,
NPDES ,
Permits ,
Point Sources ,
Remand ,
SCOTUS ,
Vacated ,
Waters of the United States
The Trump administration proposed rules intended to speed up approval of major projects subject to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), such as pipelines, power facilities, mines, highways, and other public...more
1/18/2020
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Climate Change ,
Coal Mines ,
Environmental Assessments ,
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) ,
Federal Land ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Highways ,
Land-Use Permits ,
NEPA ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Notice Requirements ,
Pipelines ,
Power Infrastructure ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Rescission ,
Rollbacks ,
Trump Administration
In a move that will have a significant impact on Pennsylvania's power producers, Governor Tom Wolf signed an executive order on October 3rd directing the state's Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) to create...more
10/10/2019
/ Cap-and-Trade ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Clean Energy ,
Climate Change ,
Coal ,
Coal Industry ,
Department of Environmental Protection ,
Executive Orders ,
Fossil Fuel ,
Governor Wolf ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Natural Gas ,
Power Plants ,
RGGI ,
State and Local Government ,
Tom Wolf
The Equator Principles Association (EPA) has released the much-awaited draft text of Equator Principles 4 (EP4). Further consultation of the draft text will be coordinated by the EPA in July and August, and it is anticipated...more
6/27/2019
/ Climate Change ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
EPFIs ,
Equator Principles ,
Financial Institutions ,
Human Rights ,
International Finance ,
Land Developers ,
Lenders ,
OECD ,
Paris Agreement ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Public Consultations ,
Public Projects ,
Risk Assessment
As the offshore wind industry begins to take off, environmental impacts remain key concerns -
The development of offshore wind projects in the US has been hindered by environmental opposition to their visual effects,...more
The US District Court for the District of Columbia has blocked the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) from issuing new oil and gas drilling permits on approximately 300,000 acres of federal land in Wyoming until it adequately...more
4/2/2019
/ Bureau of Land Management ,
Climate Change ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Assessments ,
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) ,
Environmental Violations ,
Federal Land ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Land Developers ,
Land-Use Permits ,
Mineral Leases ,
NEPA ,
Oil & Gas ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Trial Court Orders ,
Trump Administration ,
Well Drilling