Green Building Law Update

Environmental Law and Sustainability for Business

Tag Archives: Kaplow

Settlement Portends Broad Failure in Attempts to Ban Natural Gas

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

Hawaii Considers $25 Climate Tax

By Stuart Kaplow on February 25, 2024 Posted in Climate Change, Codes and Regulations, Environmental, State

A $25 tax to create a “special fund to prevent climate crises and more effectively respond to climate crises when they occur.”… 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

Climate Scientist Michael Mann Awarded More than $1 Million in Defamation Case

By Stuart Kaplow on February 11, 2024 Posted in Climate Change, Legal Developments

Graph from the court pleadings

This case was about defamation and the jury was correct that Simberg and Steyn said offensive things about Mann. … 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

Court Strikes Down Federal Dishwasher and Washing Machine Rules

By Stuart Kaplow on January 14, 2024 Posted in Uncategorized

No part of that text indicates Congress gave DOE power to regulate water use for energy-using appliances like dishwashers and washing machines… Continue Reading

Federal Appeals Court Delivers Coup De Grace in Berkeley Attempt to Ban Natural Gas

By Stuart Kaplow on January 7, 2024 Posted in Climate Change, Codes and Regulations, greenhouse gas, Legal Developments

Attempts by state and local governments to ban natural gas in buildings cannot stand as preempted by federal law… 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

Unmasking “Green Bleaching”: A New Chapter in Sustainability Strategies

By Stuart Kaplow on December 17, 2023 Posted in Environmental, greenwashing, Sustainability

As the world grapples with the urgent need for sustainable practices, the emergence of green bleaching adds a new layer of complexity to the conversation… 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

EU to Ban Greenwashing and Much More

By Stuart Kaplow on November 26, 2023 Posted in Codes and Regulations, Green Washing, greenwashing

Marketing tactics of making false or misleading claims about a product or service's environmental benefits are greenwashing pure and simple .… Continue Reading

Solar Panels may be Hazardous Waste No More

By Stuart Kaplow on November 19, 2023 Posted in Codes and Regulations, Energy, recycling, Solar Panel

The proposed addition of solar panels to the universal waste regulations … 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

US Appeals Court Upholds Nasdaq Board Diversity Rule, However

By Stuart Kaplow on November 5, 2023 Posted in ESG, Federal

With large numbers of businesses having initiatives to advance gender and racially diverse talent, keeping track of the law on this subject is a necessity… 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