Carbon Solutions
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.
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.
Thought Leadership
On 3 December 2024, Judge Amos Mazzant of the Eastern District of Texas issued a nationwide preliminary injunction with respect to the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), enjoining enforcement of the CTA as well as the implementing Treasury regulations, and staying the 1 January 2025 reporting deadline until further order of the Court.
In the October edition of The Essentials, we summarize key provisions of California employment laws that took effect in 2024 and those that will take effect in 2025.
On 22 December 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted amendments (the final rule) to Rule 206(4)-1 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the Advisers Act) to modernize the regulation of investment adviser advertising and solicitation practices.
In a landmark ruling with far-reaching consequences for federal agencies and the regulated community, the Supreme Court overturned the 40-year-old Chevron doctrine.