Contents
- U.S. Regulatory Developments
- Climate Change Issues for Management
- Carbon Market Transactions
- Tools for the Carbon Market
- Climate Change Litigation
- Climate Change Regulation Beyond the U.S.
U.S. Regulatory Developments
Jane K. Murphy, Editor
On June 26, 2009, the House of Representatives passed, by a slim majority of 219-212, a climate change bill to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions 83 percent by 2050 via a "cap and trade" system, while fundamentally restructuring U.S. energy production and consumption. U.S. EPA has issued a proposed finding that greenhouse gas emissions "endanger" the public, a step to potential climate change regulation under the existing Clean Air Act, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is shifting power transmission policies to promote renewable energy. California is moving forward with aggressive new rules to limit the "carbon intensity" of vehicle emissions. DETAILS
Climate Change Issues for Management
Christine Morgan, Editor
Pressure continues to mount for companies to address climate change issues in their financial reports. While investor groups continue to press for an SEC mandate, the New York Attorney General has settled state claims against two power companies on terms requiring such disclosures in the future, and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners has adopted a requirement that large insurance companies disclose to state regulators their financial risks related to climate change. In the meantime, ASTM continues its work on a uniform standard for disclosure of financial impacts attributed to climate change in financial statements. DETAILS
Carbon Market Transactions
Dickson Chin, Editor
Growing efforts to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases thought to contribute to global warming are creating significant business opportunities for companies with energy technologies based on naturally occurring "biomass." New ventures of Weyerhaeuser, Chevron, and Cliffs Natural Resources offer the prospect of biofuel substitutes that provide the energy of a fossil fuel without the regulated emissions. On the global carbon markets, the economic downturn has reduced energy demand and depressed the price of emission credits. However, trading remains robust as companies and countries seek to convert their surplus emission credits into much-needed cash. DETAILS
Tools for the Carbon Market
Stephanie Couhig, Editor
The United States Green Building Council recently released its latest version of LEED, the voluntary green building certification system, with enhanced emphasis on reducing both energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. U.S. EPA is preparing to finalize a new reporting rule that would require 13,000 or more U.S. facilities to begin monitoring their greenhouse gas emissions as early as January 1, 2010. Companies seeking to reduce their "carbon footprint" through voluntary purchases of carbon credits are finding that the underlying quality of such credits, and their price, vary widely among the various carbon markets. DETAILS
Climate Change Litigation
Kevin P. Holewinski, Editor
A recent decision of the D.C. Circuit clarifies climate change standing and ripeness standards in a way that should make it more difficult for private parties to assert such claims. Environmental activists continue to seek climate change regulation through the "back door" of existing statutes, most recently asserting that the Clean Water Act requires Washington state to regulate greenhouse gas impacts to its off-shore ocean waters. U.S. EPA's recent issuance of a waiver allowing California to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles removes a procedural impediment to the auto industry's pending legal challenge to the substance of those regulations. DETAILS
Climate Change Regulation Beyond the U.S.
Chris Papanicolaou, Editor
Countries are beginning to develop plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions following expiration of the Kyoto Protocol in 2012. The Japanese government's goal is to reduce the nation's current level of greenhouse gas emissions by 60 percent to 80 percent by 2050, and it recently introduced a voluntary "Integrated Domestic Market for Emissions Trading" on a trial basis to develop the expertise needed to design a full-scale future program. The European Union has adopted a post-Kyoto commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20 percent by 2020, with a willingness to reduce by 30 percent if other nations make comparable commitments. DETAILS
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