Recent developments concern the EU taxonomy, the EU green bond standard, and new sustainability-linked bonds By Paul A. Davies and Michael D. Green Earlier this month (June 2020), the EU released answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) about the work of the European Commission (the Commission) and the Technical Expert Group on Sustainable Finance (TEG) … Continue Reading
Increasing interest in ESG issues presents an opportunity for sponsors to re-evaluate their existing ESG strategies. By Paul A. Davies, Nicola Higgs, Farah O’Brien, and Hannah Berdal The COVID-19 pandemic continues to present unprecedented challenges for European private equity firms and their portfolio companies. A significant number of companies have been forced to undertake emergency … Continue Reading
The Initiative aims to promote sustainability in both the batteries value chain and the growing electric vehicle market. By Paul A. Davies and Federica Rizzo On 28 May 2020, the European Commission (EC) published its Inception Impact Assessment (IIA) to modernize the EU’s batteries legislation, in particular Directive 2006/66/EC of 6 September 2006 on batteries … Continue Reading
By Paul A. Davies and Michael D. Green As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to cause economic disruption, the UK government (government) has established five working groups tasked with discussing and evaluating economic recovery measures. The groups will focus on five key themes, including “Green recovery: how to capture economic growth opportunities from the shift to … Continue Reading
The delay may complicate the regulatory landscape for sustainable finance as the EU moves toward a standardized classification system. By Paul A. Davies, Nicola Higgs, and Michael D. Green The UK government (government) has delayed a decision on whether it will adopt the EU’s taxonomy of sustainable finance activities (the Taxonomy) as the UK approaches … Continue Reading
The proposals outline the potential new UK system after Brexit, which could be linked to the EU Emissions Trading System. By Paul Davies and Michael Green On 1 June 2020, the UK’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) published proposals outlining a new UK-wide Emissions Trading System (UK ETS) contained within a response … Continue Reading
Do European Commission ambitions signal a new, more sustainable direction of travel for the EU and globally? By Paul Davies and Michael Green On 27 May 2020, the European Commission (the Commission) announced a €750 billion stimulus fund aimed at helping the economies of the EU member states recover from the shock sustained as a … Continue Reading
Economic operators are facing a number of practical and legal questions as EU and national authorities work to facilitate the supply of biocidal products. By Cesare Milani and Federica Rizzo The COVID-19 crisis has increased demand for disinfectants, hand cleaners, and other biocidal products, resulting in general shortages across most EU Member States. Many companies are currently working … Continue Reading
The EU Commission aims to enshrine into law the 2050 climate-neutrality target and has taken further steps to establish a unified EU “green” classification system. By Paul A. Davies, Michael D. Green, and Federica Rizzo The European Green Deal, presented on 11 December 2019, provides a roadmap with actions aimed at boosting the efficient use of resources and the … Continue Reading
A rating agency accepted a preliminary injunction regarding a disputed corporate sustainability rating. By Paul A. Davies, Michael D. Green, Joachim Grittmann, and Alexander Wilhelm As reported by a number of German newspapers and the environmental press, a dispute between the US proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and the German industrial image processing … Continue Reading
The Action Plan is part of the European Green Deal promoting actions to boost the efficient use of resources by moving to a cleaner and more competitive Europe. By Paul A. Davies, Michael D. Green and Federica Rizzo On 11 March 2020, the European Commission published its Communication to the European Parliament, the Council, the European … Continue Reading
The Court’s decision has important implications for the French Constitution and the interplay between economic growth and the environment. By Paul A. Davies, Fabrice Fages, and Michael D. Green On 31 January 2020, the French Constitutional Court (Conseil Constitutionnel) took a decision that aimed to balance the protection of the environment and human health … Continue Reading
The Initiative aims to grant investors, consumers, and other stakeholders a clearer picture of companies’ non-financial performance. By Paul A. Davies and Michael D. Green On 30 January 2019, the European Commission began a consultation process on a potential initiative to revise and improve the Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD) (the Initiative). The Commission has not … Continue Reading
Analysing whether the new Green Deal policies will help the EU achieve climate neutrality. By Paul A. Davies and Michael D. Green On 11 December 2019, the European Commission adopted the European Green Deal (Green Deal), initially proposed earlier in the year by the Commission’s President Ursula von der Leyen. The Commission also presented a … Continue Reading
The legislation includes six key measures to cut greenhouse gas emissions and to reach carbon neutrality by 2050. By Paul A. Davies and Michael D. Green The French Parliament has adopted a new climate energy package to tackle the effects of climate change and boost France’s energy transition endeavors to reach carbon neutrality by 2050. … Continue Reading
The Bill proposes a post-Brexit system of environmental governance to oversee new powers and regulations in four environmental law areas. By Paul A. Davies and Michael D. Green On 15 October 2019, the UK government published the final draft of Environment Bill 2019–20 (the Bill), which aims to set out the government’s environmental priorities post-Brexit. … Continue Reading
Technical Expert Group recommends minimum requirements for two new benchmarks. By Paul A. Davies and Michael D. Green On 30 September 2019, the EU Technical Expert Group on Sustainable Finance (TEG) published its final report on climate benchmarks and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosures (the Report), as well as a summary of the Report. … Continue Reading
The Programme includes a new CO2 pricing regime aimed at emissions caused by the building sector and by traffic and transport. By Jörn Kassow On 20 September 2019, the German government adopted the Climate Action Programme 2030, a plan to ensure that Germany achieves its climate protection goals for 2030, including a reduction of greenhouse … Continue Reading
Bank of England Governor identifies three areas of improvement in creating a sustainable finance system. By Paul A. Davies and Michael D. Green On September 24, 2019, the Bank of England (BoE) published two speeches given by its governor, Mark Carney, in which he calls for climate change-related risks and resilience to be brought into the heart of … Continue Reading
ECJ Decision Examines Definition of ‘Waste’ for Transboundary Consignments Request for preliminary ruling from the Hague Court of Appeal confirms that the concepts of “waste” and “discard” must be interpreted broadly. By Paul A. Davies and Michael D. Green The European Court of Justice (ECJ) recently handed down its judgment in response to a request … Continue Reading
The guidelines, along with three new reports on green finance, demonstrate the European Commission’s intent in respect of meeting its Paris Agreement targets. By Paul A. Davies, Michael D. Green and Clément Pradille On June 18, 2019, the European Commission (Commission) published new guidelines on corporate climate-related information reporting, as well as three new reports … Continue Reading
The Committee has recommended that the UK government take the lead in reaching net-zero, through social, financial, and policy change. By Paul A. Davies and Michael D. Green The Committee on Climate Change (CCC), a statutory body that advises the UK government on carbon budgets, has recommended that the UK government should commit to cutting … Continue Reading
ECJ ruling provides EU Member States more flexibility in designing the promotion of renewable energies. By Jörn Kassow and Alexander Wilhelm The European Court of Justice (ECJ) recently ruled that the German Renewable Energy Act of 2012 (Erneuerbare-Energien-Gesetz – EEG 2012) did not constitute State aid (C-405/16 P). The ECJ found that the support mechanism … Continue Reading
EU will tax manufacturers for excess emissions and collect individual consumption data from vehicles in order to meet climate change goals. By Jörn Kassow and Patrick Braasch The EU is setting stricter CO2 emission standards for new passenger cars and light commercial vehicles (LCVs). A new regulation on CO2 emission standards (Regulation (EU) No 2019/631), … Continue Reading
