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Join Vinson & Elkins for our tenth annual seminar discussing timely topics surrounding unconventional oil and gas development.

On August 3, 2020, the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (“PCAF”) released a draft standard outlining a proposed approach for global carbon accounting.

As discussed in these two previous posts, EPA recently released two rules changing the volatile organic compound (“VOC”) and methane emissions requirements for new sources in the oil and gas sector, which alter or roll back some of the requirements put in place under the Obama administration (“Methane Rule”).

The Task Force for Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (“TCFD” or the “Task Force”) was established by the G-20 Financial Stability Board in 2015 to encourage the disclosure of consistent climate-related financial information.

In 2018, the 2° Investing Initiative (“2DII”) — an international, non-profit think tank working to align financial markets and regulations with the Paris Agreement’s goal of keeping global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels — launched the Paris Agreement Capital Transition Assessment (“PACTA”) tool.

The European Union Taxonomy Regulation (the “Taxonomy”) entered into force on July 12, 2020, as part of the European Commission’s (the “Commission”) broader action plan on sustainable finance initiated in March 2018.

In June 2018, the International Maritime Organization (“IMO”) announced the adoption of an initial strategy to reduce total greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions attributable to the international shipping sector by at least 50% by 2050.¹ 

As discussed in this previous post, the federal government’s regulation of methane for the oil and gas industry — both from the Department of Interior on public land, and from EPA — continues to swing back and forth due to shifting agency positions in different administrations and lawsuits challenging those shifts.

As discussed in this previous post, the federal government’s regulation of methane for the oil and gas industry — both from the Department of Interior on public land, and from EPA — continues to swing back and forth due to shifting agency positions in different administrations and lawsuits challenging those shifts.

On July 22, 2020, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) proposed a rule establishing Greenhouse Gas (“GHG”) emissions standards for larger civilian jet and turboprop aircraft. Civilian aircraft account for ten percent of U.S. transportation-related, and about three percent of U.S. total, GHG emissions.

Methane gas has been the subject of yo-yoing regulation—and regulatory roll-backs—over the past few years.

On June 29, 2020, the EPA issued an Addendum to its March 2020 COVID-19 Temporary Enforcement Policy (“Policy”) announcing that the Policy will terminate in its entirety on August 31, 2020.