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 ...
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 ...
Last month marked the 50-year anniversary of one of the more infamous and impactful environmental disasters to occur in the United States. On June 22, 1969, the Cuyahoga River, which runs through the heart of Cleveland before emptying into Lake Erie, caught fire for the 13th time. Time magazine ran a story that highlighted the river’s severe pollution ...
On Monday, June 3, Governor Gretchen Whitmer and the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) announced MDARD’s decision to allow for commercial solar energy development on land currently enrolled in the Farmland and Open Space Preservation Program, commonly known as PA 116. PA 116 was established in 1975 and is designed to preserve farmland and open space in Michigan ...
Beginning next month, used car dealers in West Virginia may sell vehicles directly to consumers without a single warranty that the vehicles are operational or safe to drive. The so-called “As Is” bill – approved last March by the West Virginia Legislature – will allow merchants to make sales on an “as is” basis, effectively eliminating any implied warranties about a vehicle’s merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose ...
Executive Decree No. 238 of June 10, 2019 Requirements to apply for permanent residency for executives of Multinational Headquarters offices (“SEM” for its acronym in Spanish) As of June 11th, 2019, the requirements to apply for the Permanent Resident Permit for Executives of SEM companies who i) continue working at a SEM company, and ii) no longer work for a SEM company ...
The Government of North Macedonia announced an open call for awarding a contract for the use of a feed-in premium for electricity produced in photovoltaic power plants (“PVPPs”) on state land in North Macedonia, with total installed capacity of 35 MW. Two locations are envisaged for construction of the PVPPs – Azambegovo (Sveti Nikole) and Manastirec (Makedonski Brod) ...
Uganda has taken a bold and long overdue step to revamp its 24-year old environmental law, the National Environment Act (Cap. 153) (the “NEA”). An amendment was necessary given the massive infrastructure projects in the energy sector, the planned infrastructure of a refinery and pipelines in the oil and gas space, the imminent production of oil, increasing urbanisation and the consequent pressures on land, and climate change ...
On 10 May 2019, the Chief Inspector of Mines published, in terms of the Mine Health and Safety Act, 1996 (the “MHSA”), a Guidance Note on Medico-Legal Investigations of Mine Deaths.Legal status of the Guidance Note:It is important to note that the Guidance Note has been compiled with a view to provide guidance to all relevant stakeholders regarding their roles and responsibilities with regard to medico-legal investigations of both natural and unnatural mine deaths ...
The Scottish Government, SEPA and industry have identified significant opportunities for the growth of the finfish aquaculture sector in Scotland. This expansion is an express policy objective of the Scottish Government, and was confirmed through the National Marine Plan published in 2015. Nevertheless, whilst there has been some growth in the sector since the plan’s publication, the sector has yet to realise its full potential ...
Scotland’s countryside offers a vast range of property investment options, from houses and cottages to farms and country estates. However, when buying a rural property it is important to consider various issues that may be taken for granted in the purchase of a property in an urban area. 1 ...
TheScottish Land Commission recently published their reportinto what it describes as the issues associated with largescale and concentrated land ownership in Scotland. The report draws a number of conclusions and makes recommendations to the Scottish Government about potential future legislative change that might have far-reaching consequences for rural land ownership ...
The reportable arrangement provisions were established by the South African Revenue Service (“SARS”) with the objective of obtaining information on certain types of transactions. The circumstances under which a person should report an “arrangement” to SARS, as defined in section 34 of the Tax Administration Act, 2011 (the “TAA”), are contained in sections 34 to 39 of the TAA ...
Texas LawyerMarch 14, 2019By Rodrigo Figueroa According to ERCOT, the entity that oversees 90 percent of the State’s grid, as of January 2019 there was nearly 1,500 megawatts of installed utility-scale solar capacity in the ERCOT region, with that number expected to almost triple to 4,300 megawatts by the end of 2020 (one megawatt is enough to power about 200 homes in Texas during times of high-peak demand) ...
On December 29, 2018, Government Emergency Ordinance No. 114/2018 on the establishment of measures in the field of public investments and of fiscal – budgetary measures, the amendment and completion of certain normative acts and the extension of certain deadlines (“GEO 114/2018”) was published in the Official Gazette ...
The public rights of access on and over land, enshrined in the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003, have now been around for almost 14 years. They allow all members of the public a responsible right of access on and across land and inland water throughout the country, often informally referred to as the right to roam. Certain parts of land may be excluded from the rights of access under the Act: restrictions may be allowed, for example, due to planned forestry operations ...
The President of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, has passed an executive order whereby he proposed the creation of the “Logistic Center for the Distribution and Transportation of Petroleum Products” (the “Center”), as a decentralized administrative entity separate from the Ministry of Energy, with technical, operational and management autonomy ...
The Chicago City Council recently approved a significant amendment to the transit-oriented development provisions of the Zoning Ordinance. Prior to the change, the Chicago Zoning Ordinance, through increases and reductions of certain development standards, allowed for larger, more dense buildings on properties in close proximity to CTA or Metra train stations ...
The dispute between ride sharing companies Uber and 99 is increasingly fierce. Now the main stage is Rio de Janeiro. In May 2018, Uber filed a lawsuit against 99 in the city, claiming misleading advertising. Less than two months ago, 99 began an aggressive discount campaign in the city to promote the 99Pop service in Rio, competing directly with Uber ...
