Proposed regulations clarify FEOC restrictions and clean vehicle tax credit compliance for manufacturers aiming to produce eligible EVs.
By Jean-Philippe Brisson, Jim Cole, Eli M. Katz, Qingyi Pan, Rob Thompson, J. Dylan White, and Sam Wong
As countries around the world accelerate the transition to clean energy, the race to gain shares in the electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing market is intensifying, with global sales of EVs rising 31% in 2023.[1]
To facilitate increased
The Act demonstrates the UK’s renewed commitment to reaching net zero and paves the way for players in key industries to achieve their targets.
By Tom Bartlett, Paul A. Davies, JP Sweny, Michael D. Green, James Bee, and Samuel Burleton
On 26 October 2023, the UK Energy Act 2023 (the Act) received Royal Assent. The Act is a landmark piece of energy legislation detailing the UK’s approach to achieving energy independence and its net zero obligations.
The provisions of the Act lay the foundation for potentially £100 billion worth of private investment in clean energy infrastructure. The government has indicated that the Act is intended to support up to 72,000 jobs in carbon capture and storage (CCS) and hydrogen by 2030.
This blog post summarises how the Act is likely to impact key industries.
Extensive negotiations focused on finalizing the details of a “rulebook” for an international carbon market under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.
By Jean-Philippe Brisson, Paul A. Davies, Sarah Fortt, Betty M. Huber, Michael Dreibelbis, and Qingyi Pan
The 27th annual Conference of Parties (COP27) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is well underway in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. Over the past week, governments, corporations, non-governmental organizations, academics, and other members of civil society have been invited to discuss and collaborate on strategies for reducing carbon emissions and achieving net-zero targets.
Last year, COP26 in Glasgow led to notable progress in relation to global carbon credit markets and climate change mitigation. Significantly, a large number of countries that are party to the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement signed the “Glasgow Climate Pact,” in which they agreed, among other things, to focus on limiting the global average temperature rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. It is critical that COP27 continues to build on the Glasgow Climate Pact to keep this momentum going.
This year as in prior years, Latham & Watkins is participating in the summit by speaking on panels and working with clients. This blog post summarizes the highlights from the first week of COP27. Latham will continue to monitor developments at the summit and will report on any final text adopted by the parties to the UNFCCC.
CCUS and clean hydrogen will play a significant role in the Administration’s efforts to address hard-to-decarbonize industries to promote clean US manufacturing.
By Janice Schneider, Nikki Buffa, and Kevin Homrighausen
On February 15, 2022, the White House announced important actions in furtherance of the Biden Administration’s broader decarbonization goals — this time with an eye toward clean domestic manufacturing. Framing the rollout, the White House released a fact sheet highlighting the Administration’s efforts for a “Cleaner Industrial Sector to Reduce Emissions and Reinvigorate American Manufacturing,” including “Buy Clean,” hydrogen, and carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) announcements.
These efforts include kicking off multibillion-dollar hydrogen funding opportunities provided by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law) and new draft guidance from the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) titled Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Sequestration Guidance to assist federal agencies with the regulation and permitting of CCUS projects.
As more companies jockey for position and federal funding on both clean hydrogen and CCUS, the announcements are timed to provide critical guidance on these emerging areas of opportunity.
The newly published Energy White Paper establishes a domestic trading scheme and sets out plans to clean out energy.
By Paul A. Davies and Michael D. Green
On 14 December 2020, the UK Government published its Energy White Paper (the Paper). The Paper builds on previous green economy plans, setting them “in a long-term strategic vision, […] consistent with net zero emissions by 2050”.
The Paper further details ambitions unveiled by the Prime Minister in mid-November, in his Ten Point Plan. Moreover, the Paper sheds more light on previously established initiatives, such as the UK Emissions Trading Scheme, previously set into law through the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme Order 2020.
President Xi Jinping promises to reduce carbon emissions in speech before the UN General Assembly.
By Paul A. Davies, Michael D. Green, R. Andrew Westgate, and Jacqueline J. Yap
On 22 September 2020, during a speech before the UN General Assembly, President Xi Jinping announced China’s commitment to become carbon neutral by 2060 and reaffirmed China’s commitment under the Paris Agreement to peak its carbon emissions by 2030. China is the world’s largest greenhouse gas (GHG) polluter and emitted approximately 10 billion tons of carbon dioxide in 2018, according to the Global Carbon Project. Given this, China’s commitment to become carbon neutral by 2060 would significantly reduce global GHG emissions and set the stage for China’s development of a green economy.
In a significant and potentially precedent-setting action, EPA terminates the Clean Power Plan, narrows the scope of required controls to the regulated unit, and axes previously available compliance options.
By Stacey L. VanBelleghem and Robert A. Wyman
On June 19, 2019, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its final Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) Rule to replace the Obama Administration’s Clean Power Plan (CPP). Both rules would regulate carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from existing electric generating units (EGUs) pursuant to Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act (CAA).[i] EPA made few changes from its 2018 proposal (summarized in this prior Latham post), with the notable exception of EPA’s decision to proceed with a separate rulemaking to finalize its proposed revisions to New Source Review (NSR) rules for power plants.
EPA Rulemakings
EPA’s recent notice announcing the final ACE Rule identifies three actions, which EPA characterizes as “separate and distinct rulemakings.”
The Green Industry Guidance Catalogue attempts to provide consistent nationwide guidelines for green industries and projects.
By Paul A. Davies and R. Andrew Westgate
Background
On 6 March 2019, seven Chinese regulatory agencies issued the Green Industry Guidance Catalogue (the Catalogue) listing “green industries” that are eligible for funding with green bonds. The seven agencies include the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Ministry of Natural Resources, Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE), Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, The People’s Bank of China, and the National Energy Board.
China’s environmental revolution not only entails implementing a robust, modern policy framework, but also a significant rearrangement of the economy itself — rendering the revolution a priority for both ecological and economic development reasons. As a result, in recent years, all provinces and directly-administered municipalities within China and departments within the Chinese government have introduced policies and measures to promote green industries. However, these policies and measures have been hampered by a lack of uniformity and the application of differing standards in different regions.
The proposed initiative will allow the provision of clean energy on a global scale by 2050.
By Paul A. Davies and R. Andrew Westgate
The Global Energy Interconnection (GEI) initiative, originally developed by Liu Zhenya, the chairman of the Chinese State Grid Corporation, is dedicated to promoting global energy interconnections in a sustainable manner.
The GEI is proposed to take the form of a backbone grid, first throughout Asia and then expanding globally. The first phase would consist of six ultra-high voltage grids that span the Asian continent, which GEI estimates will require a US$38 trillion investment.[1]
The GEI is part of the broader Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The BRI is a Chinese state-backed program that intends to boost trade and economic growth across Asia through the development of infrastructure projects. China Development Bank, China’s primary policy-based lending institution, has already granted US$160 billion in loans to countries involved in the BRI process.
By Joel C. Beauvais and Stacey L. VanBelleghem
On August 21, 2018 the Trump administration released its proposed Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule to replace the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan (CPP). Both rules would regulate CO2 emissions from existing electric generating units (EGUs) pursuant to Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act (CAA). The ACE proposal includes three elements:
Replacing the CPP with new emission guidelines for CO2 emissions from existing EGUsHere are six key points stakeholders should know about EPA’s proposed ACE rule.