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The Initial Strategy provides the first global climate framework for the shipping sector and will support Paris Agreement targets.

By Paul Davies, Janice Schneider, and Eun-Kyung Lee

Background

In April 2018, the Marine Environmental Protection Committee of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) adopted an initial strategy to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in international shipping (Initial Strategy). The IMO is a United Nations agency with responsibility for the safety and security of shipping and the prevention of marine pollution from ships. The Initial Strategy represents the first global climate framework for shipping. In tangible terms, IMO aims to reduce the total annual GHG emissions by at least 50% by 2050 compared to 2008 levels, while simultaneously planning to phase GHG emissions out entirely.

Initial Strategy aims and measures

The Initial Strategy consists of (i) a framework for Member States outlining guidelines for the international shipping industry in the future and (ii) short- mid- or long-term measures to reduce GHG emissions. For this purpose, the Initial Strategy determines several “levels of ambition” for the international shipping sector. Levels of ambition directing the Initial Strategy are as follows:

  • Carbon intensity of ships to decline through implementing further phases of the energy efficiency design index (EEDI) for new ships
  • Carbon intensity of international shipping to decline — including reducing CO2 emissions per transport work, as an average across international shipping, by at least 40% by 2030, pursuing efforts towards 70% by 2050, compared to 2008
  • GHG emissions from international shipping to peak and decline

The multi-pronged plan will encourage a collaborative national effort to dispose of France’s “consume and discard” model.

By Paul A. Davies

The French Prime Minister recently unveiled the country’s circular economy roadmap. The 50-item scheme, announced on 23 April 2018, is the result of consultation with stakeholders (November 2017 —January 2018) and a two-stage online public participation involving the solicitation of comments and then the submission of draft roadmap (November 2017—February 2018).

The roadmap

Some measures are new and some derive from Law n°2015-992 of 17 August 2015 on energy transition, which was the catalyst for the nation’s circular economy scheme in a variety of respects. By 2019, the roadmap will be followed by a bill and regulatory measures transposing the EU’s Circular Economy Package objectives, which will lead to the amendment of the following directives:

  • Waste
  • Packaging waste
  • Landfill
  • Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE)
  • End-of-life vehicles
  • Waste batteries
  • Accumulators

As China begins to implement its emissions trading system, the country may look around the globe for regulatory guidance.

By Paul A. Davies and R. Andrew Westgate

China established its national emissions trading system (ETS) as a key component of the plan to meet its commitments under the Paris Agreement. The country’s participation in the Paris Agreement is significant not only because it contributes 15% toward total global carbon emissions, but because China was a key proponent of the agreement during its negotiation.

China’s initial hurdle was how to systematically collect the emissions data necessary to design and implement the emissions trading scheme. Accurate and comprehensive emissions data is critical not only for setting the level of the overall cap, but also in determining how free allowances will be allocated to regulated companies. Determining the rate at which the emissions cap declines also requires predicting future emission rates and market demand levels.

A coalition government would likely focus on energy, transportation, and the automotive industry to meet Paris Agreement targets.

By Joern Kassow and Patrick Braasch

Background

After the 2017 German parliamentary elections, the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) and the Social Democrats (SPD) faced difficulties in forming a new government. However, the parties have now agreed on preliminary key terms for the government’s 2018-2021 policy in a 28-page memorandum. The key terms will serve as the basis of formal coalition negotiations, which the parties likely will conclude in February or March 2018. Whether the parties will form a new government at the end of these negotiations still remains to be decided, however, based on the current election results, a so-called “grand coalition” between the two largest parliamentary groups is the most probable outcome. Therefore, the key terms will likely form the cornerstones of the next government’s political agenda.

The memorandum provides insight into German environmental policy, which will have significant impact, particularly on the energy and automotive industries. This blog highlights two key terms of the memorandum, and considers the potential outcome for German energy and automotive industries.

By Joshua Bledsoe, Sara Orr, and Bobbi-Jo Dobush

Major investors with collective control of more than US$26.3 trillion are continuing to push for an increase in public companies’ governance, oversight, and disclosure of climate-related risk. Unveiled on December 12, 2017 at the One Planet Summit in Paris, the Climate Action 100+ is designed to promote the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement. The Paris Agreement provides a global action plan to limit global temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius.

A group of 225 investors, led by California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) and other major investors, have signed on to the Climate Action 100+ since the invitation to join was issued in September 2017. The signatories will be led by five coordinating partners including Asia Investor Group on Climate Change (AIGCC), Ceres; Investor Group on Climate Change (IGCC), Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC), and Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI).

By Marc Campopiano and Shannon Cheng

A proposed Scoping Plan Update released by the California Air Resources Board (ARB) targets the land use sector and development projects for greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions. The proposed update was spurred by the passage of Senate Bill (SB) 32 and Assembly Bill (AB) 398, which codified California’s goal of reducing GHG emissions to 40% below 1990 levels by 2030 and extended the Cap-and-Trade Program, respectively.

In a shift from prior versions of the Scoping Plan, which largely avoided discussing the California Environmental Quality Act’s (CEQA’s) role in addressing climate impacts from new land use development, ARB recommends that local agencies cut GHG emissions from the land use sector in three key ways:

By Paul Davies and Alice Gunn

Unwrapping the New Circular Economy Package

The European Commission is driving the transition to a stronger and more circular economy by ensuring resources are used in a more sustainable way. On 2 December 2015, the Commission adopted a new Circular Economy Package which, according to the Commission, will help European businesses and consumers adopt more sustainable practices.

In December 2014, the Commission withdrew proposals for waste reductions targets on the grounds that the approach…