Regenerative Development To Mitigate Climate Change – "Common Earth's Path To Sustainability" (Podcast)

Governor Greg Abbott has ordered the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to immediately halt all environmental permits for data center projects, expanding a statewide regulatory freeze that now encompasses power, water, and environmental approvals. This directive establishes strict operational mandates requiring data centers to fully fund infrastructure costs, report all resource consumption...

Governor Abbott has ordered Texas environmental regulators to halt all data center permit issuance until grid operators complete a comprehensive audit in mid-December 2026. The sweeping directive affects not only grid-connected facilities but also fully islanded data centers relying on behind-the-meter generation, creating uncertainty for developers and their contractual obligations.

On September 21, 2026, Texas Governor Greg Abbott directed the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to halt issuance of permits to data centers until the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) completes an audit of impacts on the Texas electric grid and water resources.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has directed state agencies to halt all data center permits until comprehensive audits assess the projects' impacts on electric infrastructure, residential ratepayers, and water resources. The directive requires data centers to fully fund necessary electric infrastructure and comply with enhanced reporting requirements, while the governor signals potential legislative action to codify new protections and phase out certain tax incentives.

On September 30, Edgewell Personal Care Brands LLC was hit with a lawsuit in California superior court concerning its Carefree brand of menstrual liners.

California has enacted seven unprecedented bills targeting data center development, imposing sweeping new requirements for energy reporting, water consumption assessments, labor standards, and electricity rate structures. These laws fundamentally reshape the regulatory landscape for data centers, requiring detailed disclosures at multiple project stages while prohibiting categorical CEQA exemptions and establishing new interconnection rules that shift infrastructure costs directly to developers.

A federal district court has preliminarily enjoined the EPA from reclassifying California's Clean Air Act preemption waiver orders as "rules" subject to the Congressional Review Act. The court found that EPA's reclassification likely violated the Administrative Procedure Act and exceeded the agency's authority, though the order does not prevent Congress from proceeding with pending disapproval resolutions.

California has enacted comprehensive legislation requiring data center developers to disclose water usage and demonstrate supply adequacy before obtaining permits. These new laws impose water supply assessments, efficiency reporting, and drought contingency planning obligations that fundamentally reshape the regulatory landscape for data center development in the state.

A federal court has struck down New York's Climate Change Superfund Act, which sought to recover $75 billion from fossil fuel companies based on historical emissions. The ruling found the Act preempted by the Clean Air Act, marking the first judicial decision on state climate superfund legislation and establishing that EPA's rescission of the endangerment finding does not alter preemption analysis.

The EPA has released decisions on 34 small refinery exemption petitions from 2025, granting full or partial exemptions that total 1.76 million RINs - significantly more than initially estimated. This discrepancy has prompted the agency to announce a new rulemaking that will reallocate 100 percent of exempted volumes to 2026 and 2027 renewable volume obligations, potentially increasing compliance burdens for nonexempt obligated parties.

On January 13, 2025, the Bureau of Industry and Security ("BIS") of the U.S. Department of Commerce issued an interim final rule on a Framework for Artificial Intelligence Diffusion...

On March 3, 2026, the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. (“ISDA”) and the Emerging Markets Traders Association (“EMTA”) published the 2026 FX Definitions (the “2026 FX Definitions”)...

On January 8, 2026, the Securities and Exchange Commission of the Philippines ("Philippine SEC") introduced revisions to the country's 2020 REIT Rules (the "2026 Revisions").

On January 29, 2026, the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Department of the Treasury ("OFAC") issued General License No. 46, authorizing certain transactions that would otherwise be prohibited under the U.S.-Venezuela sanctions program.

The FCA has recently published a new 'dear CEO' letter setting out its updated supervisory strategy and priorities, including key risks and areas for improvement for regulated firms.

Milbank LLP advised Singapore-based AGP International Holdings Pte. Ltd. ("AG&P") on its sale of a 20 percent minority stake to Osaka Gas Co. Ltd.

Law students interested in practicing transactional law, from M&A to securities transactions, often ask how much business experience and training they need in order to launch a successful career.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has proposed rule amendments that would allow public companies to choose semiannual reporting instead of quarterly reports for their periodic reporting obligations. This potential shift in the regulatory framework aims to reduce compliance burdens while maintaining investor protections, giving companies flexibility to determine the reporting frequency that best serves their stakeholders.

With the easing of economic sanctions by the United States and Europe, Myanmar is now a prime target for foreign investors.

China’s energy regulator, the National Development and Reform Commission ("NDRC"), announced in July of this year its first nationwide feed-in-tariff ("FiT") for solar photovoltaic ("PV") development in an effort to boost China’s domestic solar industry and to increase the share of solar power in China’s energy portfolio.