Green Building Law Update

The Intersection of Real Estate, Science, and Law

Archives: GHG

With ‘new’ proposed Maryland BEPS regulations what does a Building Owner do now?

After this was posted, on January 13, 2025 citizen groups and business associations jointly filed suit in the U.S. District Court against the Secretary of the Maryland Department of the Environment challenging the Maryland BEPS program as preempted by Federal statute and unenforceable as a matter of law. Read more here. After this blog was … Continue Reading

Maryland Governor Executive Order Mandates Climate Action

By Stuart Kaplow on June 23, 2024 Posted in Climate Change, GHG, greenhouse gas, State

The executive order mandates comprehensive economy wide actions in both the public and private sectors, to place Maryland ahead of all other states in mitigating climate change… Continue Reading

Legal Action Seeks Mandatory Pollution Warnings for Gas Stoves

By Stuart Kaplow on June 16, 2024 Posted in Climate Change, GHG

Absent some new government intervention with warning labels on cooking oil, a government action that would be rationally related to a legitimate government interest would be proper increased ventilation in buildings… Continue Reading

White House Unveils Commitment to Carbon Offsets

By Stuart Kaplow on June 2, 2024 Posted in Climate Change, Federal, GHG, greenhouse gas

Voluntary carbon offsets are indispensable tools for organizations striving to achieve net zero emissions, particularly those unable to generate enough onsite renewable energy. … Continue Reading

Settlement Portends Broad Failure in Attempts to Ban Natural Gas

By Stuart Kaplow on March 31, 2024 Posted in Federal, GHG, State

The immediate and long term failure of state and local governments' attempts to ban natural gas in homes and businesses.… Continue Reading

SEC Climate Disclosure Rule Stay and Venue Now in the 8th Circuit

By Stuart Kaplow on March 24, 2024 Posted in Climate Change, Federal, GHG, greenhouse gas

Compellingly 25 states have now filed petitions for judicial review attacking the SEC Final Rule. … Continue Reading

EV Charger Data Apocalypse

By Stuart Kaplow on March 17, 2024 Posted in Climate Change, Energy, GHG, greenhouse gas

I don’t think this is some secret coterie of tech companies and governments seeking to weaponize EV chargers, but it is malfeasance at a huge scale and the transgression will certainly do more harm than good . … Continue Reading

SEC Final Rule on Climate Change and GHG Disclosure

By Stuart Kaplow on March 10, 2024 Posted in Climate Change, Codes and Regulations, Federal, GHG, greenhouse gas

Adopted long awaited rules to enhance and standardize climate related disclosures, including for the first time requiring greenhouse gas emission disclosures… Continue Reading

New York is Coming for Your Cheeseburger with Greenwashing Case

By Stuart Kaplow on March 3, 2024 Posted in Climate Change, GHG, Green Washing, greenhouse gas, greenwashing, State

net zero by 2040… Continue Reading

Defense Contractor Prohibition on Greenhouse Gas Emissions Disclosures

By Stuart Kaplow on February 18, 2024 Posted in Codes and Regulations, Environmental, Federal, GHG, greenhouse gas

Defense contractors are not permitted to “disclose a greenhouse gas inventory or any other report on greenhouse gas emissions.”… Continue Reading

France is an Example of How Not to do Residential Greenhouse Gas Reduction

By Stuart Kaplow on February 4, 2024 Posted in Climate Change, Codes and Regulations, Environmental, GHG, greenhouse gas

A Green Challenge: France's Struggle with High Emission Rental Properties… Continue Reading

BEPS on Hold in Maryland

By Stuart Kaplow on January 30, 2024 Posted in Codes and Regulations, Energy, GHG

AELR put a “hold” on the proposed regulations to create the Maryland Building Energy Performance Standards (BEPS)… Continue Reading

National Definition for a Zero Emissions Building

By Stuart Kaplow on January 28, 2024 Posted in Climate Change, Energy, Environmental, GHG, greenhouse gas

Provide feedback on the draft national definition for a Zero Emissions Building.… Continue Reading

Does evian Water Greenwash?

By Stuart Kaplow on January 21, 2024 Posted in GHG, Green Washing, greenwashing, Legal Developments, Sustainability

Photographs from Court Pleadings

A good primer on greenwashing, but more than a little scary when you consider this may portend plaintiffs’ lawyer television advertisements recruiting mass litigation greenwashing clients. … Continue Reading

Measuring and Reporting Greenhouse Gas Emissions will be “the” Environmental Issue of 2024

By Stuart Kaplow on December 31, 2023 Posted in Climate Change, Environmental, GHG, greenhouse gas

Decarbonization of the world’s economies is the biggest business opportunity in history, waiting to be unlocked… Continue Reading

Sustainability Triumphs: A 2023 Year in Review with an Eye Toward Decarbonizing

By Stuart Kaplow on December 24, 2023 Posted in GHG, greenhouse gas, Sustainability

2023 year in review… Continue Reading

Maryland Building Energy Performance Standards Effective January 1

By Stuart Kaplow on December 10, 2023 Posted in GHG, greenhouse gas, State

The BEPS regulations, without providing for any meaningful reduction in GHG emissions, risk irreparably harm the Maryland economy… Continue Reading

Greenhouse Gas Data Must be Collected Beginning January 1 in Maryland

By Stuart Kaplow on December 3, 2023 Posted in Codes and Regulations, GHG, greenhouse gas, State

Beginning January 1, 2024 greenhouse gas emission data be collected for reporting to the Maryland state government. … Continue Reading

Greenhouse Gas Data Confidentiality Takes Two Steps Forward

By Stuart Kaplow on November 12, 2023 Posted in Codes and Regulations, Environmental, GHG, greenhouse gas

Businesses must protect their data, not to mention monetize it for their benefit, and can do both while at the same time leading the way toward decarbonizing the economy and repairing the world. … Continue Reading

Net Zero, Carbon Offsets and more Now Require Disclosures

By Stuart Kaplow on October 29, 2023 Posted in Climate Change, Codes and Regulations, Environmental, GHG, greenwashing

This new law is being heralded as anti greenwashing … Continue Reading

Advantages of Adopting the Model State Indoor Air Quality Act: Prioritizing Human Health Amid Energy Concerns

By Stuart Kaplow on October 22, 2023 Posted in Climate Change, Environmental, GHG, Green Building, greenhouse gas

The quality of the air we breathe is fundamental to our well being if not life itself. With Americans spending nearly 90% of their lives indoors, the importance of healthy indoor air quality (IAQ) cannot be overstated. In response to the growing concerns about IAQ, a Model State Indoor Air Quality Act has just been … Continue Reading

Tenants Monetizing their Greenhouse Gas Emission Data

By Stuart Kaplow on October 15, 2023 Posted in Codes and Regulations, Environmental, GHG, greenhouse gas

We are already working with a broad breadth of businesses, including tenants and landlords, to develop strategies to assist them in taking advantage of this opportunity to monetize their GHG emission data … Continue Reading