The worldwide focus on carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases (GHG) is intensifying, and changes to their regulations and policies at nearly every level of government and business have the potential to broadly impact our lives and livelihoods. Our global, cross-practice team of lawyers has decades of experience in energy transition and renewables, carbon capture, storage and transportation, carbon trading, and commodity and derivatives regulation, and regularly works with entities engaged in the carbon market.
Whether viewed through the lens of decarbonization or carbon as a commodity asset, we see increasing efforts to manage and regulate carbon. Global efforts are underway to:
Transition the energy system and amplify the use of renewable energy.
Develop and deliver alternative no- and low-carbon fuels.
Regulate the emissions of GHG from industrial activities.
Establish markets where carbon credits are sold on a voluntary or mandatory basis.
Capture, transport, and sequester carbon dioxide in nature-based systems, in geological structures, or in commercial products.
Commoditize the value of sequestered carbon in transactable credits.
Standardize and verify the sequestration of carbon dioxide.
Develop liquid derivatives markets to allow for efficient hedging and exposure to voluntary carbon markets
We address many of these leading issues in our Carbon Quarterly publication.
Unlike other commodities, the commercial, regulatory, and policy frameworks for managing, regulating, and transacting carbon are still evolving. Through our fully integrated, global platform, we work seamlessly across practices and jurisdictions to provide tailored legal solutions in insurance coverage, intellectual property, tax, policy advocacy, environmental, corporate, commercial, regulatory enforcement, and dispute matters to help our clients harness opportunities, minimize risk, and achieve their ultimate goals and objectives.
On 23 April 2025, the European Commission has issued its first ever fines under the Digital Markets Act (DMA): a €500 million fine on Apple for violation of the DMA’s prohibition of anti-steering provisions for app stores, and a €200 million for Meta’s “pay or consent” model that was found to be a violation of the DMA’s requirement of seeking user consent for gatekeepers before combining user data between their different services.
On 30 June 2025, both the US Department of Energy and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission announced revisions to their respective National Environmental Policy Act procedures to speed up the permitting process for energy infrastructure.
This alert describes the persons who would be subject to the changes contained in Code Section 899, the consequences of being subject to this proposed new Code section, and some of the impacts this provision would have on certain cross-border transactions.
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