On January 12, 2024, the EPA announced a proposed new rule entitled Waste Emissions Charge for Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems (the "Proposed Rule"). As required by Congress pursuant to the Inflation Reduction Act ("IRA"),...more
3/13/2024
/ Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
Infrastructure ,
Methane ,
Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Waste Disposal
The SEC has adopted the much-anticipated climate-related disclosure rules, which are more than 900 pages long, two years after they were first proposed. Although the rules will almost certainly face challenges in court that...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") has proposed regulations for calculating methane emissions fees required beginning this year under the Inflation Reduction Act ("IRA"). Section 136 of the Clean Air Act (added...more
2/6/2024
/ Clean Air Act ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Fees ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
Liquid Natural Gas ,
Methane ,
National Emissions Standards ,
Natural Gas ,
Pollution Control ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
U.S. Treasury
New proposed Treasury and Department of Energy ("DOE") guidance, issued on December 1, 2023, offers clarity on which vehicles will be disqualified from the Clean Vehicle Tax Credit due to the inclusion of minerals or...more
1/3/2024
/ Automotive Industry ,
Clean Car Standards ,
Clean Energy ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Foreign Entities ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
IRS ,
Motor Vehicles ,
Proposed Guidance ,
Tax Credits ,
U.S. Treasury
The Situation: The Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") finalized regulations designed to reduce methane emissions from the oil and gas industry by 80% in coming years at both new and existing facilities. The regulations...more
12/12/2023
/ Clean Air Act ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Energy Policy ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Final Rules ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Methane ,
Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
Regulatory Reform
The Situation: The Inflation Reduction Act ("IRA") requires the U.S Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") to finalize new greenhouse gas reporting rules for the petroleum and natural gas industry based on "empirical...more
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ("Commission" or "FERC"), sustaining a previous order, holds that the appointment of a non-independent director by an investor to a utility's board creates a per se affiliate...more
In Short -
The Situation: The Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") has issued proposed rules to limit carbon dioxide ("CO2") emissions from fossil fuel-fired power plants (the "Proposed Rules")....more
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ("Commission" or "FERC") holds that appointing an investor representative to a Public Utility Board results in an affiliate relationship independently of the amount of voting stock...more
The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (the "Act"), signed into law by President Biden this month, offers new or expanded tax incentives for buying electric vehicles ("EVs") and using or producing certain environmentally...more
The Inflation Reduction Act (the "Act"), signed into law by President Biden on August 16, 2022, will significantly impact clean energy. This White Paper contains a summary of the provisions most relevant to the renewable...more
Snapshot of Incentives -
Consumer incentives include tax credits for clean and efficient energy, $9 billion in home energy rebate programs, a $4,000-$7,500 tax credit for qualified individuals to purchase zero-emission...more
On July 28, 2022, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (the "Commission" or "FERC") proposed a new rule which would significantly expand the existing "duty of candor" rule (found at 18 C.F.R. 35.41(b)) to apply to any...more
In March 2022, the European Commission published "REPowerEU," a blueprint of its planned changes to the regulation of European Union energy markets in direct response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. At...more
What Happened: West Virginia v. EPA -
In West Virginia v. EPA, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Jones Day client, the North American Coal Corporation, and determined that the EPA did not have clear authorization from...more
7/13/2022
/ Air Pollution ,
Chevron Deference ,
Clean Air Act ,
Clean Power Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Global Warming ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Pollution Control ,
Power Plants ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Resource Management ,
SCOTUS ,
West Virginia v EPA
On June 9, 2022, the Biden administration released new standards for its goal of building 500,000 electric vehicle ("EV") charging stations nationwide by 2030.
The U.S. Departments of Transportation ("DOT") and Energy...more
6/16/2022
/ Automotive Industry ,
Biden Administration ,
Charging Stations ,
Department of Transportation (DOT) ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Infrastructure ,
Innovative Technology ,
Motor Vehicles ,
NPRM ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Urban Planning & Development ,
Zero-Emission Vehicles
The enduring COVID-19 pandemic continued to impact corporate governance practices and trends in 2021, while other notable developments, including a surge in shareholder proposals, changes to the proxy rules, and increased...more
2/4/2022
/ Climate Change ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Governance ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Proxy Season ,
Proxy Statements ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Risk Management ,
Securities Regulation ,
Shareholder Meetings ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Shareholders
2021 was the year in which superannuation funds took center stage in Australian take-private transactions. In what has been a record year for Australian M&A activity, the weight of money rolling into Australian superannuation...more
"Anti" M&A Activism While the absolute number of companies publicly facing activist demands regarding M&A transactions decreased in 2021 vs. 2020, M&A activism represented an increased share of overall economic demands of...more
China China has increased its efforts to scrutinize global transactions that may implicate national security concerns using its foreign investment security review ("FISR") process....more
Antitrust scrutiny of M&A remained high during 2021, and merging parties continued to make follow-on divestitures designed to obtain antitrust clearance for their main transaction....more
Europe saw a major increase in public M&A activity in 2021, fueled by cheap money and optimism as economies started to emerge from the worst effects of the pandemic. In particular, PE purchasers with dry powder to deploy and...more
What are the trends, risks, and opportunities in 2022?
As dealmakers recover from a record-breaking 2021, we expect another busy year in 2022. While risks in the financing market, the tightening of the regulatory...more
China passed its new Data Security Law ("DSL") in June 2021 and its new Personal Information Protection Law ("PIPL") in August 2021. Both new laws impact every business operating in or doing business with China, coupling...more
2/3/2022
/ Acquisition Agreements ,
China ,
Corporate Sales Transactions ,
Data Processors ,
Data Security ,
Foreign Investment ,
Indemnity Agreements ,
International Data Transfers ,
Merger Agreements ,
Personal Information ,
Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL) ,
Private Equity ,
Private Equity Funds ,
Subsidiaries
Since early 2021, Congress has been working on legislation that would alter the U.S. tax laws and potentially have a significant impact on M&A and private equity transactions....more