Showing posts with label green regulations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label green regulations. Show all posts

Course of Study: Climate Change and the Law

This important learning opportunity will provide an overview of climate change and “clean energy” regulatory regimes at the state, federal, and international levels. Participants will learn about the likely future developments and implications for clients, practice tips and pitfalls, and ethics issues. This event is the fifth annual ALI-ABA Course of Study and is cosponsored by the Environmental Law Institute. It will take place on April 7-8, 2011, at ALI-ABA in Washington DC, USA.

For those who practice environmental, regulatory, energy, resources, administrative, corporate, or securities law, climate change presents both risks and opportunities. Although there is uncertainty as to the shape of future federal regulation, there is little doubt that climate change will continue to be a driver of risk and reward for companies and law firms. The course will focus on the key policy and legal elements that contribute to climate law and policy, and how this quickly changing landscape could affect your clients. This course is intended to provide both the practical understanding and necessary skills to do this successfully.

This year’s program not only features two keynote addresses by high-ranking federal administrators, but also includes officials from across federal and state agencies who reflect the various political and policy approaches to climate change that you and your clients will confront.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency now requires reporting of greenhouse gas emissions, and broad EPA regulation of such gases may be around the corner. States and regions across the country are implementing both sector-specific and economy-wide regulatory regimes. Federal circuit courts of appeals have given the green light to tort suits seeking damages and injunctions against companies for climate emissions.

This course provides an overview of climate change and “clean energy” regulatory regimes at the state, federal, and international levels. Learn about likely future developments and implications for clients, practice tips and pitfalls, and ethics issues.

Top federal and state officials and practitioners will explain and discuss:

  • Greenhouse gas reporting at the EPA, CEQ, and SEC
  • Regulation of greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act
  • Regional, state, and local regulation
  • International negotiations and trade
  • Developments on the Hill
  • Climate change in the courts
  • Regulation of fuels and renewable energy

    Those involved with teaching this course will provide detailed, in-depth, and practically oriented insights into this new field, with presentations ranging from regulatory structures on the international, national, regional, and state levels to explorations of pending legislation and its impact on your clients’ transactions.

    Keynote speakers include:
  • David J. Hayes, Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C.
  • Mary D. Nichols, Chairman, California Air Resources Board, Sacramento

    For more information or to see the complete programme schedule click here.

    © 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.
  • China's Green Laws for Business

    In 2008, China passed green legislation aimed at companies operating in China. The legislation had a major impact on Western firms who thought their carbon intensive operations could avoid government regulation by being based in China.

    According to research from Carnegie Mellon University, a third of Chinese emissions are the direct result of the manufacture of products and services that are exported, primarily to Western markets.

    China's laws and regulations support the government's climate change targets including reducing energy consumption per unit of GDP by 20 percent, doubling renewable energy capacity. These laws also helped China to succeed in their goal of cutting pollution levels 10 percent by 2010 compared to a 2005 baseline.

    A range of Chinese regulations are designed to curb carbon emissions and promote adoption of clean technologies. These measures help China to develop a "recycling economy" that could maximize economic efficiency while minimizing energy consumption and emissions. Industrial and rural sectors are encouraged to make wider use of waste material.

    Under the regulations, industries are required to introduce water-saving technologies and encouraged to switch to cleaner forms of energy, including renewables. Businesses and government departments are required to install renewable energy technologies in new buildings and develop their own plans for promoting energy efficiency and recycling.

    Tax breaks have also been introduced on energy efficient and clean technologies, and a number of inefficient products have been banned. Companies and government departments that use prohibited products face fines of 50,000 yuan to 200,000 yuan (about $7,622.53 USD to $30,490.13 USD).


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