On 1 January 2020, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) will introduce its revised rules and trade terms governing global freight transport. The Incoterms rules were first introduced by the ICC in 1936 to “establish commonly accepted definitions and rules related to the sale of goods between trading partners worldwide”, and now facilitate international trade valued in the trillions of dollars each year ...
Amid the noise, vitriol and spectacle, the real debate that we need to have about climate change has been drowned out. In the past few weeks, I have followed with much interest a Swedish child activist’s barely concealed yearning for the Nobel Peace Prize. Sadly, Greta Thunberg, famous for her tirades on climate change, did not win the award, despite her widely watched zero-emission Atlantic crossing in a hydro- and solar-powered yacht to address the UN General Assembly ...
Part 5 of the Environment Bill, contains a number of disparate proposals relating to water – which could have major implications for many. Senior associate Joanne Sear and solicitor Grace Mitchell take a look at some of the key points in the Bill. Water resources planning According to its explanatory notes, the Bill is intended to “improve… water resources planning” and “facilitate… collaborative regional planning” ...
On 7 August 2019 a new UN convention was signed in Singapore by 46 countries, the "UN Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation", also known as the Singapore Convention. The Singapore Convention applies to international settlement agreements resulting from mediation and aims to be an instrument for international trade to facilitate and promote mediation as an alternative method of resolving trade disputes ...
Activists and government leaders are sounding the death knell for our planet unless something is done about climate change. But while sustainability is important, sustainability reporting may not be the answer. In a headline-hogging speech at the UN last month, 16-year-old environmental activist Greta Thunberg berated politicians and business people for doing too little to arrest climate change, ruining the globe for future generations. High-profile scandals back up her claim ...
An Update in the World of Workplace Safety MSHA Civil Penalties On August 16, 2019, the United States Department of Labor Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) issued a report on MSHA’s civil monetary penalties (“CMP”) program ...
On September 11, 2019, the House of Representatives approved the Law on Integral Waste Management. This project, which was submitted in June 2018 by the Executive Branch, presents a new scenario in this area with important changes for all actors and operators. The guiding purpose of the law is the minimization of waste generation through the search for efficiency in production processes, encouraging subsidiary reuse and recovery through recycling ...
The Cape Town Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment of 16 November 2001 (the the “CTC”) and its Protocol on Matters Specific to Aircraft Equipment has since its adaption in 2001 grown to be the overruling legal framework in the aviation industry, providing banks, airlines and leasing companies with an international unified regime on acknowledgement and enforcement of security interests in aircraft ...
The High Court of Justice held that travel agents are not permitted to sell insurance products for outside of Israel. This is in accordance with the decision of the Ministry of Finance’s Commissioner of Capital Markets, Insurance and Savings. In July 2019, the High Court of Justice rendered its decision in the matter 2969/19 The Israel Association of Travel Agencies and Consultants v. The Commissioner of the Capital Markets, Insurance and Savings Authority ...
Frithjof Herlofsen of Simonsen Vogt Wiig successfully represented an Italian shipowner in a loss of hire cover dispute against Gard. The rushed response of the Nordic Plan Revision Committee to include "Anti-Hamburg" wording in the revised 2019 Commentary to the Nordic Plan raise several concerns. Overview ...
In May 2019, the South African Proposed Regulations Pertaining to the Financial Provision for the Rehabilitation and Remediation of Environmental Damage caused by Reconnaissance, Prospecting, Exploration, Mining or Production Operations, 2019 (the “2019 Regulations”) were released for public comment ...
The Association Des Hoteliers et Restaurateurs Ile Maurice (“AHRIM”), an association of hotels and restaurants in Mauritius, and the Sea Users Association, an association of civilians, recently won an important appeal. The appeal was against the grant of an Environmental Impact Assessment (“EIA”) licence to a fish farming project by the Minister of Social Security, National Solidarity, and Environment and Sustainable Development ...
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has signed into law the Carbon Tax Act, 2019, which comes into effect on 1 June 2019. With the passing of the carbon tax into law, a price on carbon emissions is now a reality for the South African economy.The impact of the legislation, along with complementary measures such as the national greenhouse gas emission reporting regulations, will have a transformative effect on the South African economy ...
With South Africa’s recent cabinet reshuffle, the Department of Water Affairs and Sanitation was amalgamated with the Department of Human Settlements. This indicates the growing intersection between natural resources and people/communities, and in turn, the potential for policy to stop seeing natural resources and people in separate silos ...
In a country with a significant number of mature fields and few discoveries made and/or developed in the last years, the Romanian National Authority for Mineral Resources has recently launched a public call for tender for the concession of 28 exploration, development and exploitation petroleum blocks, both onshore and offshore (Licensing Round XI/2019) ...
Electricity was first generated in Nigeria in 1866 when two generating sets were installed to serve the Colony of Lagos. In 1951, the government of Nigeria, through an Act of Parliament, established the Electricity Commission of Nigeria (ECN) to regulate and operate the power supply systems in Nigeria. Subsequently, the Niger Dam Authority (NDA) was established for the development of the Kanji Hydroelectric Dam ...
Currently, 33% of Ireland's Greenhouse Gas emissions are produced as a result of agricultural activities. In order to reduce emissions there must be a change in farming methods; opportunities are also present in the areas of forestry, bioenergy and land-use practices. While reducing emissions, policy in this area must also aim to: Maintain the "green" brand image of Irish food exports abroad ("Origin Green" etc.). Maintain good prices for producers ...
Financing in the shipping industry has changed and will continue to change in the following years. The new IMO 2020 Regulations on low sulphur fuel and the IMO strategy on greenhouse gas emissions (GHG emissions) put more pressure on the shipping industry in the aftermath of the worldwide financial crisis. The need for the development of new financial structures in the shipping industry was therefore profound ...
At the end of the 19th century, mechanisms that transformed natural resources into energy began. The conception of electricity as a private good, which fosters economies of scale and the promotion of transmission and generation megaprojects in the sector, consciously and interestedly omit sustainable energy alternatives from a social and environmental point of view. The causes that leave aside this type of projects are based on the lack of economic profitability for investment interests ...
