On April 17, 2024, the EPA released a final rule designating two perfluorinated chemicals—Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctanesulfonic Acid (PFOS)—as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA).  EPA also released enforcement guidance explaining how it intends to apply the new listing with respect to certain types of potentially responsible parties. The rule will go into effect 60 days after publication in the Federal Register, and is the first time the agency has designated any hazardous substances under CERCL ..read more

With the 2024 election rapidly approaching, the Biden Administration must race to finalize proposed agency actions as early as mid-May to avoid facing possible nullification if the Republican Party controls both chambers of Congress and the White House next year.  The Congressional Review Act (CRA) allows Congress to overturn rules issued by the Executive Branch by enacting a joint resolution of disapproval that cancels the rule and prohibits the agency from issuing a rule that is “substantially the same.”  One of the CRA’s most unique features—a 60-day “lookback period”—al ..read more

On April 9, the Board of Trustees of the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), a climate action organization that has validated corporate decarbonization targets for more than 4,200 companies to-date, issued a statement announcing that environmental attribute certificates (EACs), including carbon credits generated by voluntary carbon projects, may be used to abate Scope 3 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. It is possible to view the Board’s statement, unprecedented for SBTi, as recognition of the practical challenges associated with achieving Scope 3 emissions abatement without utilizing EACs ..read more

Yesterday, the European Parliament approved a new (recast) Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive (“UWWTD”) that will impose new additional costs on producers marketing pharmaceutical and cosmetic products in the European Economic Area by the end of 2027.  Some studies suggest that the costs that producers would have to collectively pay could be around €1 billion per Member State.  This is well above the figures published in the Commission’s impact assessment, which estimated the annual cost of implementing the various requirements of the UWWTD in all Member States at €3.8 bi ..read more

On January 17, 2024, the European Parliament formally endorsed its provisional agreement with the Council on the Directive Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition through Better Protection against Unfair Practices and Better Information (“Greenwashing Directive”).  The Council is now expected to endorse the provisional agreement after which the Directive will be published in the EU Official Journal and enter into force. The Greenwashing Directive aims to contribute to the EU’s green transition by empowering consumers to make informed purchases using reliable sustainability informati ..read more

The European Parliament and Council are in negotiations to finalize the adoption of a proposal for a new Directive on the Right to Repair.  The proposed Directive aims to meet the product sustainability and circularity objectives by improving product durability, reusability, upgradeability, and repairability as outlined in the European Commission’s Circular Economy Action Plan 2020, a key component of the European Green Deal. The Parliament and Council are expected to reach an agreement and adopt the proposed Directive before the European Parliament’s elections in June 2024, so that the D ..read more

The European Commission is currently holding a public consultation on a Draft Delegated Act (“DDA”) on a common rating scheme on the energy performance of data centers in the European Union and European Economic Area (“EU/EEA”).  The DDA will lay out the energy key performance indicators that operators and owners of data centers must report, the sustainability indicators that will be calculated per data center, and the aggregated data that will be made publicly available, in accordance with the new EU Energy Efficiency Directive (“EED”).  The adoption of the DDA will introduce specif ..read more

In the early hours of December 14, 2023, the Council of the EU (“Council”) and the European Parliament (“Parliament”) reached a provisional political agreement on the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (“CSDDD”). Described as a “historic breakthrough” by Lara Wolters, who has led this file for the Parliament, the CSDDD will require many companies in the EU and beyond to conduct environmental and human rights due diligence on their global operations and value chain, and oblige them to adopt a transition plan for climate change mitigation. Given the CSDDD’s relevance for companies ..read more

What You Need to Know. After two days of intense negotiations, world leaders adopted a draft decision that sets out international climate priorities in response to the findings of the first Global Stocktake under the Paris Agreement.  The decision covers several thematic areas, including mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions, adaptation and resilience in the face of climate change, financing and means of implementation and support for climate projects, and loss and damage funding for climate-vulnerable nations.  The text of the draft decision can be found on the UNFCCC’s website he ..read more

What You Need to Know. The thematic focus of the day’s programming was on nature, land use, and ocean, including events on scaling effective solutions that protect, restore, and beneficially manage nature ecosystems, addressing drivers of nature loss, empowering Indigenous Peoples and local communities, and creating resilient livelihoods.  As part of this discussion, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) launched a report highlighting that nearly $7 trillion of public and private finance each year supports activities that directly harm nature—thirty times the amount spent annuall ..read more