The European Commission President delivers her first state of the union address, covering a number of issues, in particular a number of ESG matters. By Paul A. Davies and Michael D. Green On 16 September 2020, Ursula von der Leyen, delivered her first state of the union address since taking over the presidency of the … Continue Reading
Proposed regulation will require companies to substantiate their environmental footprint claims, seeking to ensure green claims are more reliable. By Paul A. Davies and Michael D. Green Background On 27 August 2020, the European Commission (the Commission) launched a public consultation on a possible proposal on substantiating green claims about products or services. This follows … Continue Reading
New guidance contains clarifications from the European Commission and seeks to lessen trade barriers following the Brexit transition period. By Paul A. Davies and Michael D. Green The UK’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has published updated guidance on meeting climate change requirements after the Brexit transition period ends on 1 January … Continue Reading
The carbon border adjustment mechanism would aim to prevent carbon leakage resulting from carbon pricing in the EU emissions trading system. By Paul A. Davies and Michael D. Green On 22 July 2020, the European Commission (the Commission) published a consultation on a carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) that is open until 28 October 2020. … Continue Reading
Energy system integration is considered a crucial aspect of delivering the EU’s target to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. By Paul A. Davies and Michael D. Green On 8 July 2020, the European Commission (the Commission) issued a new Communication, “Powering a climate-neutral economy: An EU Strategy for Energy System Integration” (the Communication). The Communication … Continue Reading
The consultation aims to gather technical input from stakeholders in the green bond market before finalising an EU GBS. By Paul A. Davies, Michael D. Green, and Aaron E. Franklin On 12 June 2020, the European Commission (the Commission) published a targeted consultation document on the establishment of an EU Green Bond Standard (EU GBS). … Continue Reading
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
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
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 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
The European Commission has also established a mechanism to assist the transition of regions that will be more profoundly impacted by the 2050 carbon-neutrality target. By Paul A. Davies and Michael D. Green On 11 December 2019, the European Union announced that it would enshrine into legislation its goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 … Continue Reading
The formal adoption reflects the EU’s acknowledgement that a robust system of sustainable finance will be essential to the proposed capital markets union. By Paul A. Davies and Michael D. Green On 8 November 2019, the Council of the EU published a press release announcing the adoption of legislative reforms that aim to enhance the … 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 European Commission will submit a study and a proposal to reassess individuals’ right to challenge crucial decisions before EU courts. By Rosa Espín and Leticia Sitges The Council of the European Union (the EU) has recently issued a formal decision requesting that the European Commission submit a study to identify options for addressing identified … Continue Reading
The Innovation Fund will promote advanced low-carbon technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote decarbonisation. By Paul A. Davies and Michael D. Green By the end of 2018, the European Commission will set up an Innovation Fund (the Fund) to aid decarbonisation. To achieve this, the European Commission will amend the EU Emissions Trading … Continue Reading
After neglecting to heed an initial warning, six Member States may face financial penalties if they do not reduce pollution levels. By Paul A. Davies, Michael D. Green, and Alexander Wilhelm The European Commission (EC) has referred the UK, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, and Romania to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for failing to … Continue Reading
The EC is seeking feedback on its roadmap for the next EU Emissions Trading System revision. By Paul A. Davies, Lars Kjølbye, Elisabetta Righini, and Guendalina Catti De Gasperi The European Commission (EC) has launched an initiative for the revision of EU-wide rules for the free allocation of emission allowances under the EU Emissions Trading … Continue Reading
Recommendations signal a major shift for Europe’s financial system through both legislative and non-legislative changes. By Paul A. Davies and Aaron E. Franklin The European Commission (EC) has revealed its action plan for mobilizing the financial system to encourage a “greener and cleaner economy.”[1] The plan, which was released on 8 March, states that it … Continue Reading
The ambitious proposal aims to ensure all plastic packaging is reusable or recyclable by 2030. By Paul Davies, Michael Green and Betta Righini Background Amid increasing scrutiny of plastic waste, the European Commission (the Commission) has released a for plastics in a circular economy (the Strategy). The Strategy builds upon the European Union’s (the EU’s) … Continue Reading
By Michael Green and Paul Davies Following decision C(2017)7124 of the European Commission (EC), the EC has launched its Work Programme for 2018 (WP 2018). WP 2018 outlines plans for achieving the EC’s primary policy objectives during the next 12 months — with particular attention to environmental issues. WP 2018 outlines four “Focus Areas” (FAs) … Continue Reading
By Paul Davies and Michael Green On 16 June 2017, the Member State Committee (MSC) of the ECHA unanimously agreed to identify BPA as a substance of very high concern (SVHC) under the REACH regime. BPA is common in a variety of household products, typically used in the manufacture of plastics and resins found in … Continue Reading
By Jörn Kassow and Eun-Kyung Lee On June 9, 2017, the European Commission (EC) published its Action Plan to Streamline Environmental Reporting (COM(2017) 312), summarising the findings of its review of reporting requirements following the 2015 ‘Better Regulation Initiative.’ As part of this 2015 Initiative, the EC carried out a fitness check focused on assessing environmental … Continue Reading
By Paul Davies, Elisabetta Righini and Rosa Espin On 28 April 2017, the European Commission (the EC) published a “roadmap” on the strategic approach to pharmaceuticals in the environment, particularly in the aquatic environment. Concurrently, the EC launched a 12-week open public consultation to address the environmental pollution caused by human and veterinarian pharmaceutical substances. … Continue Reading
By Paul Davies and Michael Green The European Commission has recently published plans to integrate sustainability considerations into decisions made by investors within the EU. More specifically, the EU is looking to spell out in legislation, that the consideration of ESG issues should be incorporated into the fiduciary duties of EU asset managers. The main … Continue Reading
