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Tag Archives: environment

China’s War on Pollution Hits M&A Deal Environment

By Paul Davies, Richard Butterwick, Terry Charalambous, and Catherine Campbell In recent years, China has taken significant steps in developing its environmental policy. In 2014, China’s Premier Li Keqiang declared a “war on pollution”, which began in earnest in 2017. Since then, regulators have been more proactive in enforcing environmental regulations. Factory closures have become a … Continue Reading

China’s War on Pollution Hits Private Equity Deal Environment

By Paul Davies and Catherine Campbell In recent years, China has taken significant steps in developing its environmental policy. In 2014 China’s Premier Li Keqiang declared a “war on pollution”, which began in earnest in 2017. Since then, regulators have been more proactive in enforcing environmental regulations. Factory closures have become a key part of … Continue Reading

European Court of Justice Delivers Victory for EU Transparency and Accountability

Landmark ruling requires the European Commission to disclose impact assessments used as a basis for its legislative decision-making process. By Antonio Morales and Rosa Espín The Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice of the European Union recently issued a landmark judgment finding that impact assessments should be considered public documents. This decision sets a … Continue Reading

Proposed Market Framework for Financing Small Nuclear Projects in the UK

By Beatrice Lo and Heeran Caselton The Expert Finance Working Group on Small Nuclear Reactors (EFWG), an independent group convened in January 2018 by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, recently published its report with recommendations for a market framework to enable the development of small nuclear projects in the UK with private … Continue Reading

Nuclear Sector Deal — Financing New UK Nuclear Power Projects

By Beatrice Lo and Heeran Caselton The UK government recently published its Nuclear Sector Deal (Sector Deal) as part of the UK’s modern industrial strategy. Recognising the sector’s strategic importance in delivering future energy security, the Sector Deal reconfirmed the government’s commitment to upgrading the UK’s nuclear infrastructure and support for new build nuclear projects. … Continue Reading

China Strengthens Regulation of Pesticides and Creates Centralized Pesticide Bureau

By Paul Davies, Bridget Reineking, and Andrew Westgate China, the world’s largest producer and consumer of pesticides, is strengthening its regulation of agrochemicals. The Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) recently issued revisions to the country’s pesticide registration requirements, which officially came into effect on November 1, 2017. Pesticide use in China accounts for over one-third of … Continue Reading

European Parliament Calls for Tougher Environmental Liability Rules

By Paul Davies and Michael Green The Environmental Liability Directive (ELD) aims to prevent, remedy and/or compensate for environmental damage. ELD seeks to achieve this through the “polluter pays principle”, ensuring businesses are held legally and financially accountable for environmental degradation that results from their operations. However, Member States have varied considerably in implementing ELD, … Continue Reading

Green Bonds Offer a Solution for China’s Green Finance Challenges

By Paul Davies, Bridget Reineking, and Andrew Westgate Since establishing the People’s Bank of China’s Green Finance Task Force in 2014, China has encouraged green financing mechanisms through a variety of pioneering initiatives. For example, the country has designated five green finance pilot zones, within which financial institutions are incentivised to provide credit and special … Continue Reading

New Environmental Bureau to Regulate China’s Natural Resources

By Paul Davies, Bridget Reineking, and Andrew Westgate President Xi has announced the creation of a new environmental bureau to oversee China’s state-owned natural resources. Establishment of the new bureau is one of the most notable outcomes of the recent meeting of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party, and follows Xi’s pronouncement that … Continue Reading

French HOP Complaint May Test Whether Planned Obsolescence Is a Misdemeanour

By Paul Davies and Michael Green In August 2015, the French government amended the French Energy Transition Law to include provisions rendering “planned obsolescence” a misdemeanour. In the latest wording of the provisions, article L.441-2 of the Consumer Protection Code (Code de la consommation) defines planned obsolescence as “… resorting to techniques whereby the entity … Continue Reading

Factories Shut Down Across China in Unprecedented Environmental Crackdown

By Paul Davies, Bridget Rose Reineking, and Andrew Westgate In recent months, teams of inspectors from China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection and the Communist Party’s anti-corruption commission have conducted a slew of surprise inspections of various industrial facilities throughout China. Estimates suggest that China has temporarily closed as many as 40% of the country’s factories … Continue Reading

President Xi Jinping Pledges Sustainable Development to Build a “Beautiful China”

By Paul Davies, Bridget Rose Reineking and Andrew Westgate At the 19th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, President Xi Jinping asserted his country’s emerging leadership in environmental stewardship and pledged to build a “beautiful China”. In his speech to the 2,300 delegates and guests assembled for the Congress’s opening session, President Xi lauded China’s … Continue Reading

China Encourages Green Finance to Meet Clean Development Goals

By Paul Davies and Andrew Westgate On 18 October 2017, the 19th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party will convene, after the week-long National Day holiday, marking one of the most important dates on the Chinese political calendar. Among the issues that National Congress members will surely discuss, is the importance of implementing strategies … Continue Reading

European Parliament: Substances of Concern in the Circular Economy Are Difficult to Address

By Paul Davies and Michael Green A new European Parliament briefing highlights the benefits of, and difficulties associated with, transitioning the chemicals industry to a circular economy. The traditional economy typically involves purchasing and using a product, and then disposing that product when it no longer has utility (i.e. the “take-make-dispose” approach to resources). Conversely, … Continue Reading

Urban Mining Briefing Reveals Huge Global Potential

By Jörn Kassow and Eun Kyung Lee Germany’s increasing shortage of natural resources and the corresponding mounting cost of extracting raw materials signals the need for alternative and innovative ways of collecting and recycling secondary raw materials. One promising method of securing potential secondary raw materials is “urban mining”, which aims primarily at reclaiming raw … Continue Reading

First Subsidy-Free Solar Farm Opens in UK

By Paul Davies and Michael Green The first solar farm has successfully launched in the UK without government subsidisation. Clayhill Solar Farm, a 10 megawatt (MW) site near Flitwick in Bedfordshire, is capable of generating enough power for 2500 homes. Clayhill’s developer, Anesco, is a private company specialising in the design and development of solar … Continue Reading

Portuguese Children Crowdfund Climate Change Suit Against 47 Countries

By Paul Davies and Michael Green Six Portuguese children are raising funds to sue 47 European countries, asserting that their right to life has been threatened because governments have allegedly failed to adequately deal with climate change. With the support of lawyers from the Global Legal Action Network (GLAN), the children will ask nations in … Continue Reading

China’s War on Pollution: Measuring the Economic Impact

By Paul Davies and Andrew Westgate China’s State Council released an “Opinion Concerning Establishment of a Long-Term Mechanism for Early-Warning and Monitoring of Environmental and Natural Resources Carrying Capacity,” which will halt major projects in heavily polluted areas, according to a report from the official Xinhua news agency. The opinion also calls for authorities to … Continue Reading

China Unveils Plan to Ban Fossil Fuel Vehicles

By Paul Davies and Andrew Westgate Addressing a car forum in Tianjin, Xin Guobin, Vice Minister of Industry and Information Technology, announced that the Chinese government is developing plans to follow in the footsteps of some European countries to phase out fossil fuel-powered vehicles. “Some countries have worked out a timetable to stop production and … Continue Reading

China Dominates Global Investments in Renewable Energy

By Paul Davies and Andrew Westgate Market research has long recognized China as the largest investor in its own domestic renewable energy industry. According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, China invested US$102 billion in 2015 alone. However, a report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) found that China’s dominance in renewables … Continue Reading

PRI’s Private Equity Terms Guidance Focuses on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Factors

By Paul Davies, Michael Green and Ei Nge Htut On 13 July 2017, Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) launched guidance on incorporating environmental, social, and governance (ESG) provisions in private equity fund terms. The publication, Incorporating Responsible Investment Requirements into Private Equity Fund Terms (the Guidance), followed a year-long consultation period with PRI signatories, expert counsel, … Continue Reading

Proposed Draft Legislation Clamps Down on Soil Pollution in China

By Paul Davies and Andrew Westgate On 22 June 2017, Chinese legislators released draft proposals to combat soil pollution in China at a bimonthly session of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress. The legislation complements the State Council’s ambitious plan to address soil pollution – an area not specifically covered by Chinese environmental law … Continue Reading

A New European Standard for “Green Finance”

By Paul Davies, Michael Green and Ei Nge Htut The High Level Expert Group on sustainable finance  (the Group), which the European Commission (the EC) established, published its interim report on 13 July 2017. The report sets out the key steps required to create a financial system that supports sustainable investment, as well as identifying areas … Continue Reading
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