The Climate Report | Second Quarter 2020
Climate Change Regulatory Issues & Updates
NHTSA and EPA Finalize the Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient Vehicles Rule
The new rule completes the rollback of the Obama-era vehicle emissions standards.[Details]
The EU Taxonomy Regulation Moves Forward
The Regulation is one of the main pillars of the European Green Deal and forms a key part of the European Commission's action plan on sustainable finance. [Details]
The European Commission Reveals Proposal for the First European Climate Law
The proposal establishes the framework for achieving climate-neutrality by reducing emissions and increasing removals of greenhouse gases to reduce net emissions to zero in the European Union by 2050. [Details]
Climate Change Litigation Issues & Updates
D.C. Circuit Vacates 2018 Rule on Use of Hydrofluorocarbons
In the context of ruling on a regulation allowing use of certain greenhouse gases to replace ozone-depleting substances, this case provides mixed messages regarding the appropriate exercise of the Environmental Protection Agency's authority in certain circumstances. [Details]
UK Government's Failure to Consider Its 2015 Paris Agreement Commitment Delays Heathrow Airport Expansion
The UK Government's Airports National Policy Statement—proposing a new third runway at Heathrow Airport—is declared unlawful because it failed to consider the Government's commitment to the provisions of the Paris Agreement on climate change. [Details]
Fourth Circuit Holds That Climate Change Lawsuit Belongs in State Court
Jones Day recently reported on the Fourth Circuit's decision in Mayor and City Council of Baltimore v. BP P.L.C., et al. [Details]
Climate Change Transactional Issues & Updates
Renewable Energy Projects Left Unassisted by Recent Legislation May Face Critical Timing Constraints in Qualifying for Production Tax and Investment Tax Credits
The question remains as to what effect the pandemic may have on solar and wind projects that are currently under construction and financed with tax equity or are otherwise dependent on production or investment tax credits for their economic viability. [Details]
COVID-19 Crisis Highlights the Importance of Force Majeure Clauses in Energy Contracts
Force majeure and similar contractual excuse clauses have taken on an outsized importance in the wake of the pandemic, both in terms of the applicability of such clauses in current energy sector contracts and in the scope of such clauses in as-yet-unexecuted contracts. [Details]
