Chapter News

OECD & IEA | Energy price surge underlines need to accelerate clean energy transitions rather than subsidise fossil fuels

Countries should resist raising government support for fossil fuels in response to the global surge in energy prices and the economic impacts of the pandemic, according to the OECD and IEA. Instead, given the existential threat of climate change and the need for a green recovery, they should accelerate investment in sustainable energy infrastructure and the creation of green jobs, as well as meeting the UN Sustainable Development Goals, in particular SDG 7, to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable...

Read more

Member News, Trade & TTIP Related

GDLSK | Section 232 tariff relief announced on imports of steel and aluminum from the EU and EU retaliatory tariffs to be lifted

On October 31, 2021, the U.S. and the EU announced steps to, among other things, reestablish historical transatlantic trade flows in steel and aluminum and address shared challenges in the steel and aluminum sector. Among the concrete steps to be taken are the following: 1. Replacement of Section 232 tariffs with tariff-rate quotas (TRQ). Effective January 1, 2022, the United States will replace the existing tariffs on EU steel and aluminum products under Section 232 with TRQs.  Under the TRQ arrangement, historically-based...

Read more

Chapter News, Trade & TTIP Related

Questions and Answers: EU-US negotiations on trade on steel and aluminium

What is the Global Arrangement on Sustainable Steel and Aluminium? The arrangement is intended to facilitate the decarbonising of the steel and aluminium industries, as well as addressing the issue of overcapacity in these industries caused by non-market practices in some economies. The EU and US have agreed to start discussions on this Arrangement as soon as possible, and conclude them within two years. We want to make this Arrangement open to all like-minded economies. How will the Arrangement help achieve decarbonisation? Each...

Read more

Chapter News, Trade & TTIP Related

Joint EU-US Statement on a Global Arrangement on Sustainable Steel and Aluminium

The United States and the EU have today taken joint steps to re-establish historical transatlantic trade flows in steel and aluminium and to strengthen their partnership and address shared challenges in the steel and aluminium sector. As a part of that partnership, they intend to negotiate for the first time, a global arrangement to address carbon intensity and global overcapacity. The European Union and the United States have a shared commitment to joint action and deepened cooperation in these sectors...

Read more

Chapter News

EU Commission strengthens cybersecurity of wireless devices and products

Today, the Commission has taken action to improve the cybersecurity of wireless devices available on the European market. As mobile phones, smart watches, fitness trackers and wireless toys are more and more present in our everyday life, cyber threats pose a growing risk for every consumer. The delegated act to the Radio Equipment Directive adopted today aims to make sure that all wireless devices are safe before being sold on the EU market. This act lays down new legal requirements for...

Read more

Member News

ACG Resources | The Hidden Costs of an Empty Desk

It isn’t overly difficult to calculate the costs of sourcing, hiring, and training a new employee. These are all tangible, recordable costs that can be easily tracked. But what happens if you fail to fill that position in a timely manner? The losses to the company may appear in a variety of ways, but it can be far more difficult to ascribe a dollar value to them. These “empty desk” costs can add up to cost your organization significant...

Read more

Member News

Cozen O’Connor | President Biden Lifts COVID-19 Travel Ban

President Biden has announced that the current COVID-19 travel bans impacting visitors to the United States will end on Monday, November 8, 2021. This current presidential proclamation will eliminate the travel restrictions set forth in the previous presidential proclamations from 2020 and 2021 as they relate to the suspension of entry into the United States of persons physically present in Brazil, China, India, Iran, Ireland, the Schengen Area, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. In place of these restrictions,...

Read more

Chapter News

OECD | G20 economies are pricing more carbon emissions but stronger globally more coherent policy action is needed to meet climate goals

Almost half of all energy-related CO2 emissions in G20 economies are now covered by a carbon price, as several countries introduced or extended carbon taxes or emissions trading systems in the last few years. More needs to be done using the full range of policy tools, if countries are to match their long-term climate ambitions with outcomes, according to a new OECD report. Carbon Pricing in Times of COVID-19: What has changed in G20 economies? finds that G20 economies priced 49% of CO2 emissions...

Read more

Member News

Arendt | New taxonomy-related disclosures RTS published

Despite the delay to level II announced by the European Commission ("EC") at the beginning of the summer 2021, the last few months have been busy for sustainable finance! The market was given plenty of valuable information on the direction of travel of the EU sustainable finance agenda – from the EC’s announcement of the Renewed Sustainable Finance Strategy on 6 July 2021, to its answers later that same month to the Q&A raised earlier this year by the ESAs...

Read more

Member News

Vulcan Insight | ECJ fines Poland €1 million per day over judicial reforms

The long-running tension between the European Union and Poland over judicial reforms and the independence of the judiciary in the central European country took a fresh turn this week. As requested by the European Commission on 7 September, the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) this week moved to take the unprecedented step and ordered Poland to pay €1million per day in fines until it responded and implemented the CJEU’s July ruling on the subject. The fine is the highest...

Read more