Shoosmiths’ legal experts outline the key legal changes set to impact the UK’s real estate industry in 2024 and beyond. Introduction of biodiversity net gain in England New biodiversity net gain requirements will be introduced for large development sites from 12 February 2024 and are set to also apply to smaller sites from 2 April 2024. Biodiversity net gain aims to create and improve natural habitats by measuring the impact of a development on biodiversity ...
When the National Environmental Management: Waste Act, 59 of 2008 (“NEMWA”) came into operation, in July 2009, the operation Part 8 of Chapter 4 (the “Contaminated Land Provisions”) was deferred to a later date. In terms of a recent government gazette, [1] the Contaminated Land Provisions will now come into operation on 2 May 2014 ...
A wastewater facility on the island of Maui, Hawaii, collects sewage, treats it, and pumps the treated water through underground wells. The water then travels half a mile, through groundwater, into the Pacific Ocean. Must the facility possess an EPA permit to do this? In April, the Supreme Court of the United States answered this question with a rather drawn-out "maybe ...
The King's Speech 2023 unveiled an ambitious vision for the future of transportation - heralding a new era of self-driving vehicles in the UK. The speech introduced a comprehensive plan to integrate autonomous vehicles into daily lives, as part of the government's commitment to advancing transportation technology. The proposed Automated Vehicles Bill will provide the Department for Transport with the necessary authority to certify the safety of driverless vehicles ...
A summary of the key takeaways from a recent webinar on reducing scope 3 waste-related emissions. Shoosmiths is delighted to be sponsoring United Nation Global Compact Network (UNGC) UK’s series of webinars on ‘Reducing Scope 3 Emissions’ ...
A summary of the key takeaways from a recent webinar on reducing scope 3 transportation and distribution emissions. Shoosmiths is delighted to be sponsoring United Nation Global Compact Network (UNGC) UK’s series of webinars on ‘Reducing Scope 3 Emissions’ ...
A summary of the key takeaways from a recent webinar on reducing scope 3 investment-related emissions. Shoosmiths is delighted to be sponsoring United Nation Global Compact Network (UNGC) UK’s series of webinars on ‘Reducing Scope 3 Emissions’ ...
A summary of the key takeaways from a recent webinar on reducing scope 3 business travel emissions. Shoosmiths is delighted to be sponsoring United Nation Global Compact Network (UNGC) UK’s series of webinars on ‘Reducing Scope 3 Emissions’. On 29 March 2022, our Chairperson, Peter Duff, joined a panel to discuss the challenges associated with, and steps that can be taken to assist, a reduction in business travel emissions ...
With office attendance down and face to face events less frequent, the ability to meet and network with industry peers has been somewhat stymied in recent years. This is particularly true for the in-house lawyer community who, having worked through a period of sustained legislative, societal, economic and regulatory change, have arguably been one of the groups to have suffered the most from the inability hear how other IHLs across the industry have managed these challenges ...
2016 was the driest year in South Africa since rainfall records began in 1904‚ with the current drought predicted to continue well into 2017. Climate variables resulting in such devastating droughts are giving rise to increased competition for dwindling water resources in parts of South Africa. When water is critical to the ongoing operation of a business, it is important to establish precisely what right a business has to water and how to protect this right ...
Since the entry into force of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 on 1 January 2005, the general public and those in business seem, by and large, to be well aware of the potential benefits of the legislation. Information covering a plethora of topics has been accessed and used for a huge variety of purposes ...
On April 13, 2005, the government of Canada announced the first phase of Project Green “Moving Forward on Climate Change: A Plan for Honouring our Kyoto Commitment”. Although there is no legislation in force in Canada which requires companies to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, emitting companies should begin preparing for this possibility. In some cases, they should even look at the advantages of immediately trading emission reduction credits ...
The coming into force of the Kyoto Protocol on February 16, 2005 has generated intense discussion and left many unanswered questions for the industrial sector. Over the last two months, the federal government has published several documents that, to a certain extent, uncover its intentions regarding its stated objectives and its strategies for achieving such objectives ...
Report of the Department of Environmental Law and Climate Change The human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment A/HRC/52/L.7 (un.org) The Human Rights Council of the United Nations General Assembly, at its 52nd session held between February 27 and April 4, 2023, through this document, urged States to: to ...
The Hong Kong Money Authority (HKMA) published a White Paper on 30 June 2020 to set out its recommendations and supervisory expectations on green and sustainable banking around four areas: governance, strategy, risk management and disclosure. The HKMA advised AIs which are subsidiaries of international banks to assess relevance of any parent bank’s climate policy in the context of its Hong Kong operations and ensure that local specialties are addressed ...
The release of the second installment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Fifth Assessment Report on March 31, 2014, provoked the usual calls for urgent and immediate action in response to climate change, including in particular at the international level in the form of a new climate treaty built upon domestic regulatory regimes.1 Irrespective of whether these calls for action are overly strident or carefully measured, the law plays a central role ...
Prepared following concerns expressed by MPs about the government’s oversight of the waste industry. The National Audit Office (NAO) has recently published its report ‘Investigation into the Government’s actions to combat waste crime in England’ ...
“We have to hurry, we have to get faster in the fight against climate change.” Those were the words of Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, after surveying the devastation caused by record floods in western Germany in early July. Private transport is one of the world’s biggest sources of greenhouse gases, with emissions rising every year, and the transition to electric vehicles is fundamental in the fight against climate change ...
Article previously published in insider.co.uk Why are we not treating climate change like the pandemic? The COVID-19 pandemic has received 24/7 media coverage across the globe, and with good reason. Coronavirus has had a catastrophic impact, claiming the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, devastating our economies and materially changing the lives of millions as we try to adapt to the profound societal changes it has inflicted ...
Following the introduction of similar legislation in Scotland and Wales*, and a consultation exercise by the UK Government (the outcome of which was announced on 14 January 2023), a range of polluting single-use plastics will be banned from use in England from October 2023. What is coming into force and why? Under the Environmental Protection (Plastic Plates etc. and Polystyrene Containers etc ...
On May 27, 2008, Line Beauchamp, Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks, announced an envelope of $60 million under the Assistance program to reduce or avoid greenhouse gas emissions by implementation of intermodal projects in freight transportation, to fund new projects aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions ...
On 1 January 2020, the maximum allowable sulfur content of marine fuels will be drastically reduced from the current 3.50% to 0.5% m/m. 2020 is rapidly approaching, but is the shipping industry really prepared? In this article, we provide an overview of the regulations and the main alternatives for compliance that shipowners and operators are faced with. Introduction On 1 January 2020, the maximum allowable sulfur content of marine fuels will be drastically reduced from the current 3.50% to 0 ...
The pandemic alongside a renewed focus on climate change following COP26 and the growing interest in ESG credentials are all contributing to a changing world of work ...
COVID-19 has forced us to completely rethink the way we live, work and move around. It has begged the question: what is it that makes a great city? Manchester is one of the fastest-growing cities in the UK. With cranes dominating the skyline, billions continue to be invested into the city centre as it evolves into a city of quarters ...
