In the area of public business law there will be a focus over the next few years on issues relating to environment law. These issues are becoming increasingly important for companies, not only at the different management stages, but also in the context of building and planning law. In industrialised countries this is due to growing environmental awareness, the capital market’s demand for companies to undertake to protect the environment and as a result of conflicts arising from the close coexistence of industries and usage requiring protection. Climate change also requires radical changes be made with regard to the consumption of fossil fuels, but at the same time, there is a reluctance to accept technologies which are perceived as critical (e.g. nuclear energy, CCS). It is important to preserve agricultural areas to allow for the production of food for a growing world population and for the production of renewable raw materials. The European Commission is, therefore, aspiring to reorganise the European economies into so called “low carbon economies”.

On the one hand, these developments entail considerable risks for the companies concerned and a number of other companies that specialise in or depend on the production and use of fossil energy (such as the oil industry, the air transport sector, car producers). On the other hand, considerable opportunities for companies offering environment protection products and services are being created. This affects, in particular, the construction of energy efficient machines and equipment as well as the production of plants for the production of renewable energy and also the real estate industry, insofar as it considerably reduces the real estate industry’s energy needs and replaces them with renewable energy. This can also be advantageous for power plant manufacturers offering combined heat and power as well as for the mass transport in local and long-distance rail traffic.

Luther advises companies on the following topics:

• Renewable energy
• Planning and environmental risk assessment
• Construction, operation and closure of industrial plants
• General development plans and land development, urban development contracts
• Soil conservation and remediation of contaminated sites
• Environmentally friendly company organisation
• Mining and securing supplies of raw materials
• Water protection and water use
• Nature and landscape conservation, species conservation
• Waste management
• German Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act (ElektroG)
• Information obtained from public authorities
• Expropriations, compensation and public liability
• State aid
• Environment due diligence
• Climate protection and emission trading
• Approval of construction projects
• Administrative proceedings and administrative court proceedings