In this Issue: Mission is Market -
As with many, we in the Foley Hoag energy and climate practice have felt the results of the 2024 election reverberate through our industry. We’ve gathered and digested the most current...more
12/20/2024
/ Biden Administration ,
Charging Stations ,
Clean Energy ,
Climate Change ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Electricity ,
Energy Projects ,
Energy Sector ,
Energy-Efficiency Tax Credits ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Funding ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
Investment ,
Investors ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Production Tax Credit ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Renewable Energy ,
Tariffs ,
Tax Credits ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Treasury
On November 21, 2024, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healy signed into law a sweeping climate bill (St. 2024 c. 239, An Act Promoting a Clean Energy Grid, Advancing Equity and Protecting Ratepayers) packed with measures aimed...more
12/19/2024
/ Charging Stations ,
Clean Energy ,
Climate Change ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Electricity ,
Energy Projects ,
Energy Sector ,
Infrastructure ,
Legislative Agendas ,
New Legislation ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
State and Local Government ,
State Legislatures ,
Technology Sector
As we put this post-election issue of Climate Law Matters together, my colleagues and I noticed an interesting common thread in our reflections: without minimizing the impact a negative turn to federal policy could have on...more
In this Issue: Permitting Reform, the Supreme Court, EV’s, and Climate Week 2024 -
After nearly a decade as New York State’s environmental chief, I recently joined Foley Hoag to help the firm’s clients emerge as global...more
9/19/2024
/ Climate Change ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Electricity ,
Energy Policy ,
Energy Projects ,
Energy Reform ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Renewable Energy ,
Utilities Sector
Four decades after the Supreme Court’s foundational decision in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council, the Court has abandoned the rule established in that case: that courts should defer to executive agencies’...more
7/1/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Chevron Deference ,
Chevron v NRDC ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Government Agencies ,
Judicial Authority ,
Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Relentless Inc v US Department of Commerce ,
SCOTUS ,
Statutory Interpretation
Because the sun does not always shine and the wind does not always blow, ensuring that renewable sources can reliably meet society’s energy demands has long been a challenge for clean energy advocates. Battery energy storage...more
On February 20, 2024, the European Union (EU) announced a provisional political agreement to establish an EU-wide framework for voluntary certification of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) projects. This announcement, which marks...more
On September 21, 2023, the Biden administration outlined plans to expand federal agencies’ consideration of the social cost of carbon—a metric for the economic cost of each additional ton of carbon dioxide emitted to the...more
9/25/2023
/ Biden Administration ,
Carbon Emissions ,
CEQ ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Cost-Benefit Analysis ,
Environmental Impact Statements ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Environmental Review ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
NEPA ,
OMB ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
USPS
On July 31, 2023, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu signed an executive order ending the use of fossil fuels in new construction and major renovations of city-owned buildings. Although city buildings comprise a small percentage of...more
8/4/2023
/ Boston ,
Building Standards ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Clean Energy ,
Climate Change ,
Energy Policy ,
Fossil Fuel ,
Green Buildings ,
Net Zero ,
New Regulations ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements
On July 28, 2023, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) proposed reforms to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations governing how federal agencies review the environmental effects of major federal...more
8/3/2023
/ Biden Administration ,
CEQ ,
Climate Change ,
Comment Period ,
Environmental Assessments ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Environmental Review ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
NEPA ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Rulemaking Process
On June 26, 2023, the Cambridge City Council voted to amend the city’s Building Energy Use Disclosure Ordinance (BEUDO) to require large non-residential buildings to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2035 and...more
7/10/2023
/ Building Codes ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Policies ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Net Zero ,
Pollution Control ,
Real Estate Development ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Renewable Energy
Carbon dioxide removal (CDR), or the range of technologies and processes for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and oceans, promises to be a major part of US and global climate strategy in the coming decades. Recent...more
Amid renewed national ambitions to tackle climate change, electric vehicles (EVs) have emerged as a promising way to reduce emissions in the transportation sector, which accounts for nearly a third of greenhouse gas...more
As promised, President Biden has recommitted the U.S. to the Paris climate agreement. He’s also undertaken sweeping executive action to undo the previous administration’s environmental rollbacks. But after four years of...more
1/28/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Climate Change ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Economic Stimulus ,
Environmental Policies ,
Executive Orders ,
Legislative Agendas ,
New Legislation ,
Paris Agreement ,
Renewable Energy