Articles

The EU Critical Raw Materials Act: sourcing, streamlining, circularity and sustainability
EMMA GAILITIS,YASMINE KHALFI, OLIVIA M KOWALCZYK, HAISIM SIDDIQ AND ROBERT G LEE
Birmingham Law School, University of Birmingham

This article analyses the provisions of the new EU Act, published as Regulation (EU) 2024/1252, which is part of an attempt to establish and maintain a secure, sustainable supply of critical raw materials (CRMs) for the EU. Plans to streamline European production of CRMs are critically appraised, to raise  questions of what sustainable primary and secondary production of CRMs might look like in a circular economy.

From niche to necessity: the growing role of carbon capture and storage in climate change mitigation
REZA MADDAHI
University of Eastern Finland

Climate change poses a significant threat to our planet, necessitating urgent and effective mitigation strategies. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) has emerged as a solution for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, particularly carbon dioxide, by capturing and securely storing it underground. While CCS has shown promise, its widespread deployment requires substantial technical advances. This article explores the emerging factors that could trigger the large-scale implementation of CCS. It provides an overview of the significance of CCS in the context of climate change mitigation, highlighting its role in decarbonising key sectors. It then examines emerging trends such as legal and policy developments, technological innovations and societal perceptions that should unlock the full potential of this technology.

Case Commentaries

Opening the sewer-gates: an exploration of the Supreme Court’s decision in Manchester Ship Canal Company Ltd v United Utilities Water Ltd (No 2)
ARMIN SOLIMANI
Barrister, FTB Chambers, London

The long-awaited judgment from the UK Supreme Court confirms that a sewerage undertaker’s failure to properly flush the sewers is in principle susceptible to nuisance claims by affected riparian rights-holders, even absent an allegation of negligence. The granting of an injunction or damages to remedy discharges onto watercourses, rather than onto land as was the case in Marcic, was held to be consistent with the statutory scheme of the Water Industry Act 1991.

Green trademarks vs Green Claims Directive: are ‘environmental trademarks’ at risk of being cancelled?
DR DANIEL KENDZIUR AND YVES HEUSER
SKW Schwarz, Germany

For many consumers, environmental sustainability has long been a decisive purchasing criterion, leading to companies trying to communicate the sustainability of their products with green-looking trademarks. It is already difficult to register these green trademarks. The Green Claims Directive, adopted in principle by the EU Council of Ministers on 17 June 2024, poses further challenges for trademark applicants and owners, for which they must be prepared in order to avoid losing their trademarks or falling into competition law traps.

BC Hydro’s request for proposals reinforces foundation for Indigenous participation in clean energy future
JACOB A SADIKMAN, PAULA OLEXIUK, SOPHIE AMYOT, NATHALIE BEAUREGARD, JEAN-CHRISTOPHE LEDUC AND ZEYAD ABOUDHEIR
Osler Hoskin & Harcourt LLP, Toronto, Calgary and Montreal

Indigenous participation in the energy transition is a key area of focus across the Canadian economy and a key feature of provincial and territorial procurements of clean energy and energy transition assets. BP Hydro’s Call for Power 2024, designed in collaboration with the First Nations Energy and Mining Council, mandates minimum equity ownership by one or more First Nations whose territory encompasses the project, which will increase the current supply of energy by 5 per cent.

UK News

Advertising Virgin Atlantic’s ‘sustainable aviation fuel’

Advertising Standards Authority press release 7 August 2024.

Current Survey

European Union
MARTIN HEDEMANN-ROBINSON
University of Kent, Canterbury
Key policy developments, law enforcement issues and environmental legislation update, March-April 2022.