Climate Change

Recent Posts

Renewable Portfolio Standards by Ridgway Hall, Thomas Utzinger, and Jessica Hall
Posted on 7 Aug 2010 by Ridgway M. Hall, Thomas Utzinger, and Jessica Hall

By Ridgway Hall, Thomas Utzinger, and Jessica Hall; General Editor Bradley M. Marten Renewable portfolio standards (RPS) obligate retail sellers of electricity to include in their energy resource portfolios certain minimum amounts of electricity from... Read More

Peatland emissions find a place in the negotiating text
Posted on 17 Dec 2009 by Malcolm Dowden

In her recent Lexis podcast Susanna Tol of Wetlands International explained the implications of their recent report on greenhouse gas emissions from degrading wetlands. Crucially, when wetlands are drained and begin to oxidize they emit greenhouse gases... Read More

Cap-and-Trade: Law and Economics
Posted on 18 Dec 2009 by E Phillips, K Etela, B Freeman, L Vinokur

Earl W. Phillips, Jr., Kirstin M. Etela, Brian C. Freeman, Lauren M. Vinokur, Attorneys, Robinson & Cole; General Editor Bradley M. Marten Congress has been working on legislation to create a federal cap-and-trade program, and enactment of a new... Read More

The Copenhagen Accord – behind the headlines
Posted on 21 Dec 2009 by Malcolm Dowden

The UK Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change said on 16 December that it would be a ‘tragedy’ if Copenhagen failed to reach an agreement because of substance, and a ‘farce’ if it failed because of process. In the final... Read More

The SEC and Climate: Disclosure Requirements
Posted on 18 Dec 2009 by P Barmeyer, K Townsend, L Jones, J Bottini

Patricia Thrower Barmeyer, Keith M. Townsend, Lewis B. Jones, John C. Bottini, Attorneys, King & Spalding; General Editor Bradley M. Marten Climate change can impact companies in a variety of ways. To help you and your corporate clients identify... Read More

Arctic salt clouds are reducting the impact of Global Climate Change on the Arctic region
Posted on 15 May 2011 by Thomas H. Clarke, Jr.

Prior posts have noted both the various impacts of Global Climate Change ("GCC") on various aspects of the Earth and its atmospheric systems, as well as the failure of many/most models to include such impacts within their parameters. For example... Read More

More Developments from Cophenhagen - A Draft Accord, REDD plus, and control of the Climate Fund
Posted on 21 Dec 2009 by Malcolm Dowden

Throughout the day on 18 December press conferences have been postponed or cancelled. Throughout the day drafts of the proposed ‘Copenhagen Accord’ have emerged from behind the closed doors of the talks being run by Heads of State. The latest... Read More

COP15 Press Briefing: Blogger Malcolm Dowden’s Query Addressed
Posted on 9 Dec 2009 by Malcolm Dowden

At a press briefing on the second day of the United Nations Climate Change Conference from Copenhagen, Denmark (COP15), UNFCCC Executive Secretary Yvo de Boer spoke of a very positive and encouraging start to the conference on 07 December, with several... Read More

Will Copenhagen produce a ‘legally binding agreement’?
Posted on 10 Dec 2009 by Malcolm Dowden

Negotiations in Copenhagen were never going to be easy. On 9 December Tuvalu insisted that there had to be discussion of their proposal for a ‘legally binding protocol’ to come out of Copenhagen. At a press briefing on 10 December the Alliance... Read More

The Negotiating Texts
Posted on 16 Dec 2009 by Malcolm Dowden

Negotiations went on through the night of 15 -16 Dece,ber following the approach proposed by COP15 President Connie Hedegaard, with developed and developing nations 'pairing up' in an attempt to find common ground. Unbridged gaps remain on the... Read More

Are we all environmental lawyers now?
Posted on 9 Dec 2009 by Malcolm Dowden

The range of issues being discussed at COP15 is phenomenal, and touches on every area of legal practice. Much of the talk in the halls on Tuesday and Wednesday has been about the now infamous ‘Danish draft’ and about the implications of the... Read More

Business – as usual?
Posted on 21 Dec 2009 by Malcolm Dowden

Throughout COP15 Executive Secretary Yvo de Boer has remarked on the level of business interest in the summit, and its outcome. Speaking at an International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) event he challenged business to take a more direct role in the process... Read More

Tragedy, farce or last minute triumph?
Posted on 21 Dec 2009 by Malcolm Dowden

Speaking in Copenhagen Ed Miliband, the UK’s Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change said: ‘it would be a tragedy if we fail to get an agreement because of substance: it would be a farce if we fail to get an agreement because of process’... Read More

Introduction to LexisNexis Global Climate Change Special Pamphlet Series
Posted on 18 Dec 2009 by Bradley M. Marten

By General Editor Bradley M. Marten Endeavoring to write about climate change while the law is still being written, is a little bit like jumping on a moving train without knowing exactly where it is headed. But the train is moving, and for those that... Read More

A Long Way to Go
Posted on 17 Dec 2009 by Malcolm Dowden

Week 2 of the Copenhagen climate change summit has opened with strong indications of the distance between developed and developing nations and economies. The UK’s Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband said: ‘We’re now getting... Read More