Climate
Clients turn to Morgan Lewis as a trusted adviser as they address how climate change impacts their businesses and communities—whether through managing the impact of severe weather, reducing their carbon footprints, securing tax benefits, or implementing an environmental, social, and governance (ESG) strategy.
HOW WE CAN HELP
Workplace Safety. Oversight bodies increasingly scrutinize how heat and extreme weather affect workers’ health and safety. In addition to several states with heat and wildfire standards, the US Department of Labor has a National Emphasis Program focused on heat hazards and has initiated rulemaking on heat injury and illness prevention in indoor and outdoor work settings. We assist employers around the world in evaluating safety and health programs, policies, and procedures to keep their employees safe, address employee safety–related climate change laws and regulations, and avoid investigations and enforcement actions.
Sustainability Strategies. Reducing carbon emissions—even fully decarbonizing—is a crucial step for companies to achieve their sustainability goals. Our dedicated decarbonization team guides companies through the options that work best for them, including renewable energy and fuel infrastructure development and procurement, energy storage development, carbon offset/credit procurement and retirement, carbon capture and sequestration project investment and development, transportation electrification of sustainable fuel procurement, and clean hydrogen.
Regulatory & Reporting. Companies navigate a maze of region-specific climate disclosures intended to raise standards and drive climate change action. We assist in preemptively identifying legal and regulatory risks through comprehensive reviews of climate-related disclosures and advise on the evolving global reporting requirements.
Litigation & Enforcement. As the global climate changes, it can disrupt and damage infrastructure, natural resources, and our way of life. That, in turn, can lead to federal and state enforcement and administrative investigations, congressional hearings, investor and consumer class actions, individual and mass tort cases, and more. We help companies think through unprecedented legal problems, respond to climate-focused investigations and lawsuits, and ensure that their litigation strategies align with their corporate goals and values.
Administrative Proceedings. Agencies in every government are revisiting old regulations and considering new ones to respond to the changing climate. We help companies work with regulators to achieve optimal climate-related regulations, and we represent clients seeking judicial review of regulations.
Investing. The market is increasing for private investment funds focused on climate change mitigation. We help investment managers meet the evolving preferences of investors and the missions of charitable entities as they explore innovations in fund structures and terms, investment methodologies, and reporting standards, and as investors consider and implement climate-related policies and related capital deployment. Our combination of investment fund, tax-exempt, regulatory, and corporate practices uniquely position us to advise on these evolving opportunities.
Tax Advantages. The US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) greatly expanded federal income tax incentives for the manufacture and deployment of decarbonization and green technologies. Our longstanding clean tech industry tax and project finance experience—bolstered by our cutting-edge post-IRA work on new financing and tax benefit monetization structures and cross-practice proficiency in nontax areas critical to post-IRA tax incentives—make us well situated to advise developers, investors, lenders, and tax credit buyers on virtually all matters relating to IRA tax incentives.
Insurance Recovery. Insurance is a critical asset that must be assessed, preserved, and maximized to respond to potential climate-related litigation and help rebuild and recover business losses after a severe weather or other climate-related event—a complex process with hidden challenges. We assist clients with leveraging all available insurance coverage and effectively pursuing claims.
Intellectual Property. Technology is a crucial tool in addressing the climate crisis. We help companies protect their IP assets amid heightened competition and the increasing importance of public sources of funding for renewable energy and clean and other low-carbon technologies.
