The majority of current ESG developments pertains to the environment in a broader sense, rather than just to traditional environmental law. Key issues include climate protection and the transition to sustainable energy, the promotion of which is reflected across a diverse and growing array of legal regulations.
Under the “EU Green Deal”, the European Commission has cohesively aligned its regulatory approaches to energy and climate policy, setting EU-wide objectives and obligating member states to establish both short-term and long-term strategies. In Germany, the legislative amendments to the Federal Climate Change Act in the summer of 2023 have established ambitious targets, aiming for a 65% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels by 2030 and the achievement of carbon neutrality by 2045. To meet these overarching goals, both national and European legislators are targeting specific sectors. In the energy sector, the transition to renewable energy sources and hydrogen as a future energy carrier is being expedited. The EU Emissions Trading System is poised for reform and expansion. For the transportation and building sectors, the European Union intends to introduce a second (new) emissions trading scheme by 2025. Additionally, a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) is designed to complement the EU Emissions Trading System by taking into consideration greenhouse gas emissions associated with the production of certain goods, which are imported into the EU’s customs territory. As a whole, sustainable resource and raw material usage is increasingly becoming a focus of European and national regulatory frameworks.
All these developments have profound implications for nearly every industry sector and continually raise new legal and compliance issues.
Focus Areas
- Federal Climate Change Act (Bundesklimaschutzgesetz)
- Climate Litigation (advisory and litigation services in environmental and climate-related cases)
- CO2 Pricing, Fuel Emissions Trading
- Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)
- Climate Protection Agreements (Carbon Contracts for Difference)
- Decarbonization
- Emissions Trading
- Energy Transition and Renewable Energies
- E-Mobility
- European Climate Law (Regulation (EU) 2021/1119)
- EU Green Deal
- Fit for 55
- Funding Programs for Climate Protection, Hydrogen Production, and Electric Mobility
- Governance Regulation (EU) 2018/1999
- Greenwashing (advisory and litigation services concerning misleading environmental claims)
- Sustainability in Procurement Processes (sustainable procurement)
- Hydrogen