Imagine that you are environmental, health, and safety (“EHS”) counsel or general counsel for a company dealing with a natural disaster. The company’s facilities are only partially functional, employees have lost their homes, and business unit functionality has been severely disrupted. You find yourself managing the myriad demands of the federal, state, and local environmental … Continue Reading
With today being World Oceans Day, the future of our oceans and the effects of sea level rise are on our mind. Greenberg Traurig’s Kerri L. Barsh, co-chair of the Environmental Practice, recently published an article in South Florida Legal Guide Monthly titled “Five Things That Business Owners Need to Know About Sea Level Rise.” … Continue Reading
Mexico’s General Climate Change Law (Ley General de Cambio Climático) published in the Federal Official Gazette (Diario Oficial de la Federación “DOF”) on June 6, 2012, and the Regulations to the General Climate Change Law of the National Emissions Registry (Ley General de Cambio Climático en Materia del Registro Nacional de Emisiones) published in the … Continue Reading
The current federal administration has expressed a desire to defer largely to states through principles of cooperative federalism. A recent case involving the dune construction in Margate, New Jersey, offers some insight into the procedural complexities this approach presents for those affected. Where a state oversees a federally funded project, it is unlikely that one … Continue Reading
The 2008 Massachusetts Global Warming Solutions Act (GWSA) set ambitious goals for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and mitigating the potential risks posed by climate change. Last week, Gov. Baker demonstrated a significant commitment to those goals by issuing Executive Order 569 Establishing an Integrated Climate Change Strategy for the Commonwealth (EO 569). The implications … Continue Reading
This note addresses the possible legal impact of Brexit on the chemicals sector. It is one of a series of GTM Alerts designed to assist businesses in identifying the legal issues to consider and address in response to the UK’s referendum vote of 23 June 2016 to withdraw from the European Union. While Brexit … Continue Reading
In this Invest: Insights video, listen to Kerri L. Barsh, Shareholder, Greenberg Traurig, Co-Chair, National Environmental Practice discuss Sustainable Development in South Florida.… Continue Reading
On December 12, most nations of the world entered into an agreement on mitigation of and adaption to climate change. When, one may ask, will that agreement affect what regulated entities in the United States and their lawyers do? We have posted a description of the Paris meeting, describing our colleague Jim Bacchus‘ role. My … Continue Reading
Political leaders are not the only ones in attendance at the 21st annual meeting of the “Conference of the Parties” (COP 21), taking place Nov. 30 to Dec. 11 in Paris. The conference is expecting roughly 45,000 participants, including many representatives from big U.S. law firms. While many attendees are not participating in the actual … Continue Reading
In a 5 to 4 split decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Monday, June 29th, that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) unreasonably interpreted the federal Clean Air Act (“CAA”) when EPA decided deemed that costs were irrelevant in deciding whether to regulate hazardous air emissions from electric utility sources under section 112 of … Continue Reading
From Michael Cooke of GT Tampa The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has denied petitions to review the EPA’s proposed rule to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from existing electric generating sources. See In re Murray Energy Corporation, No. 14-1112 (D.C. Cir. June 9, 2015). The proposed the rule was issued under section 111(d) … Continue Reading
In 2005, Hurricane Wilma destroyed a pair of dilapidated marinas in North Bay Village where Fane Lozman, a former Marine pilot and software developer, kept a two-story floating home. Kerri L. Barsh successfully represented Mr. Lozman in a landmark admiralty jurisdiction case before the U.S. Supreme Court. The Fane Lozman v. City of Riviera Beach, … Continue Reading
On March 19, 2015, the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) released negotiating text for a new climate change agreement that will be considered for adoption at the December 2015 meeting of the UNFCCC in Paris. The negotiating text provides alternative language, addressing issues such as mitigation, adaptation, finance, and … Continue Reading
Florida is preparing for climate change projections with the first floating residential community in the United States. Read more about the project in National Geographic’s feature article, Treading Water.… Continue Reading
I have written previously here about Miami-Dade County’s recent climate change initiatives, which included adoption of requirements in 2014 that all county infrastructure projects consider the potential impact of sea level rise during all project phases and that existing infrastructure be evaluated in the face of sea level rise. Yesterday, the Miami-Dade County Commission moved … Continue Reading
Climate change, or the alteration of global climate patterns due to increased levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, continues to generate passion among members of the electorate. Environmental activists and politicians push for new policies specifically aimed at limiting the causes of increasing global temperature or mitigating its adverse consequences. In the wake of … Continue Reading
Last month, Kerri Barsh posted about a floating villas project planned for a man-made lake north of Miami. Her post is here. A few weeks later, we noticed press coverage about another floating home project conceived as a response to climate change and sea level rise, although otherwise quite different. WetLand is an exhibit at the … Continue Reading
Those following climate change adaptation may be interested in an article that appeared on Sunday, August 24, 2014, in the Miami Herald describing a project for floating villas near Miami. The specific project is, of course, specific to the location and market. However, the general observation is that technology to address sea level rise has … Continue Reading
As Michael Cooke noted in his post the following day, on June 3 EPA proposed its “Clean Power Plan” that EPA estimates would, if adopted and implemented, cut greenhouse gas emissions from existing electricity generating units by 30% from 2005 levels. 79 Fed. Reg. 34,829 (June 18, 2014). A few weeks later, as Mike again … Continue Reading
Written by Steven C. Russo and Robert M. Rosenthal On June 19th, the New York Legislature passed the Community Risk and Resiliency Act in both houses by wide margins. The Act would likely be submitted to the Governor in the next two months for signature. The Act has a laudable goal, to seek to encourage … Continue Reading
Today (May 6, 2014), a 60-person federal advisory committee (the “National Climate Assessment and Development Advisory Committee”) will consider the final draft of the Third National Climate Assessment (NCA). If the report is approved as expected today, the NCADAC will submit the Assessment to the federal government for use in establishing ”federal science priorities” and … Continue Reading
By Adam Silverman. In part II of our Air Update we address the following recent developments related to the regulation of greenhouse gases: Massachusetts became the ninth—and most recent—state to adopt stricter air standards under the RGGI. We wrote about New York’s adaptation earlier this year. European Parliament froze the number of pollution allowances in … Continue Reading
Further to my recent column and post on this blog about the less controversial adaptation side of responding to climate change, the federal government took two actions today: President Obama issued an Executive Order on “Preparing the United States for the Impacts of Climate Change” that directs executive agencies to have plans for taking adaptation and … Continue Reading
A lot of the climate change news recently — and I note it below — has focused on climate change “mitigation.” Mitigation is steps that might be taken to slow or to avoid changes in the climate. Of course, that first requires an identification of causes of climate change. That runs into an ideological dispute … Continue Reading
