Legal

WHAT'S NEXT?: Substantive regulatory change is likely to happen in the next decade as a result of the recent U.S. Presidential election, Brexit and efforts to reduce the impacts of climate change, increase trade and reduce bureaucracy while legislating for new forms of technological advancement such as robots, driverless cars and drones.

• [New] The European Clean Trucking Alliance, which consists of large fleets, auto suppliers, and non-profit groups, is urging the European Union to accelerate on-road ZEV truck adoption to meet proposed EU Climate Law targets by 2030 and to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
• [New] The Community Infrastructure Levy (Coronavirus) (England) Regulations 2020 will enable the deferral of CIL payments, late payment interest accrued to be credited and late payment interest and surcharges for late payment to be disapplied for a limited time in England.
• [New] European Union regulators are working this year to create a set of universal green bond standards that will be vital to the maturation of a market that to date has been constrained by a lack of legal standards about what makes a bond green.
• Cybercrimes directed by the Chinese government's intelligence services not only threaten the United States but also every other country that supports fair play, international norms, and the rule of law, and it also seriously undermines China's desire to become a respected leader in world affairs.
• Last year Massachusetts was already losing jobs in the fast-growing sector to states like New York and California, which have passed laws committing to 100% clean energy by 2040 and 2045, respectively.
• After a decade of U.S. hybrid warfare against China, China has imposed a security law in Hong Kong that limits U.S. interference abilities, threatened to militarily intervene in Taiwan, and made maneuvers in the Indo-Pacific that undermine key parts of Washington's Indo-Pacific strategy.
• Germany has made progress through the adoption of its coal phase out law, but its 2038 timeframe for coal phase out will need to accelerate further to respond to market dynamics and climate goals.
• The UK government could face a legal battle after offering more than $1bn in financial support to help build a gas project in Mozambique despite its commitment to tackling the climate crisis.
• Canada's government has implemented or proposed a number of policies, from carbon taxes to regulations, to hit its target: a cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2030.
• Since the turn of the decade, more than 50 countries have enacted new laws, while the total number of countries with existing data protection laws is expected to rise to about 137 by the end of 2020.
• In terms of 2030 reduction targets the EU Effort Sharing Regulation (Regulation 2018/842) requires that Ireland reduce its non-ETS emissions by 30% on 2005 levels by 2030.
• In one of the first meaningful legislative steps since committing to reaching net-zero emissions by 2050, the UK government and the Welsh parliament are set to publish revised versions of Part L and F of the Building Regulations for new dwellings in England and Wales.
• British Columbia will soon release new product-based emissions benchmarks for the Canadian province's industrial CO2 pricing mechanism, as it also updates the low carbon fuel standard regulation for changes slated to take effect next year, the environment ministry told Carbon Pulse.
• Spain's draft law will ban all new coal, oil and gas projects with immediate effect, thereby setting the direction of economic recovery from the global coronavirus pandemic.
• Fourth, the UK became the first major economy to pass a law to require it to bring all greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050.
• Climate Crisis Action Plan that aims to achieve net-zero emissions throughout the United States by 2050 and net-negative emissions by 2100, largely through sweeping reforms to federal environmental and energy laws.
• In 2020, with China's introduction of the national security law to cover Hong Kong, the Trump administration will withdraw the special status Hong Kong currently enjoys with the United States.
• China warns US, UK to stop criticism of new HK law BloomBerg China on Thursday warned of strong countermeasures if the US, Australia and the UK continued taking actions in response to Beijing's tough national security law in Hong Kong, saying foreign pressure would never succeed.
• Reducing GHG emissions in California has been the focus of the state government for approximately two decades: GHG emission targets established by state law include reducing statewide GHG emissions to 1990 levels by 2020 and to 40% below 1990 levels by 2030.

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Last updated: 04 August 2020