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Practice/Industry Group Overview
Climate Change
Manatt’s Climate Change Practice harnesses the firm’s traditional strengths in environmental regulation and energy project development. Our professionals apply a sophisticated understanding of the legislative and administrative arenas in turning a complex regulatory system to a business’s competitive advantage. Headquartered in California-home to 45 percent of new green technology investments in North America--Manatt’s Climate Change Practice spans across five broad disciplines:
Interpreting and Influencing Climate Change Policy
Manatt is recognized as a premier firm in government relations and policy development activities that are crucial to energy and natural resources policy development. We are advocates for clients in legislative and administrative hearings, rulemaking and regulatory proceedings, and legislative lobbying and analysis.
The passage of California’s Global Warming Solutions Act (“AB 32”) placed the state at the forefront of the debate over how to mitigate global warming. As significant is the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (“RGGI”), a substantial program mounted by various states in the northeast. Many other states are poised to join these efforts and the federal government may soon follow suit. In addition, climate regulation in the U.S. has created international opportunities for businesses operating across borders.
Manatt attorneys possess a depth of knowledge gained as veterans in a wide array of critical industries and influential positions in the public sector. Our attorneys have served as senior executives, general counsel and board members at companies in such industries as energy, financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, real estate and construction, and numerous other key sectors. Our perspective as lawyers, government leaders and businesspeople reflects the dynamics now driving momentum for climate change policies and regulation. The credibility and experience of our attorneys have created an impressive network of working relationships that benefit our clients.
Developing Green Projects and Counseling Businesses
The range of energy technologies being deployed to reduce or eliminate greenhouse gas emissions is expanding rapidly, encompassing not only renewable sources like wind and solar power, but also nuclear energy, hydroelectricity, clean coal technology, carbon sequestration, and numerous other alternatives, including fuels such as cellulosic ethanol and biodiesel. Our clients seek our assistance not only with project siting, but also to maximize their exploitation of complex energy- and utility-oriented regulations. The Practice has complementary experience in representing the energy industry and in siting sizable projects locally.
Members of the Climate Change Practice have:
- Helped negotiate AB 32.
- Represented business interests and negotiated technology-transfer provisions as part of the U.S. government’s delegation at the Sixth Conference of the Parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, The Hague, Netherlands.
- Worked with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and served as its congressional liaison.
- Served with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and as energy counsel to the State Assembly’s Energy Cost and Availability Committee.
- Served as energy counsel to the City of Los Angeles.
- Held senior management positions with energy companies, including the nation’s largest natural gas distribution company and a major Latin-American developer of power plants.
- Developed an effective network of contacts in the federal legislative and executive branches, drawing on firm members’ past experience as U.S. ambassadors and foreign service members, U.S. Congressmen, senior counsel to legislative leaders, and senior staff members at the White House and for the heads of Cabinet-level departments.
Selected Experience
- Influenced state legislative and regulatory efforts to restrict emissions.
- Advocated for regulatory actions that offer the most flexibility in making any necessary emissions cuts.
- Advised the owners of coal-burning power plants on strategies for dealing with climate change regulations.
- Advised client and crafted regulations on government support of coal gasification.
- Created strategy for energy developer on carbon capture and sequestration regulatory regime.
- Forecasted the effect of rules governing future carbon markets, including markets that will be created by the California Air Resources Board and the California Climate Action Registry.
- Structured cross-disciplinary teams to address issues related to greenhouse gas emissions in the full range of an organization’s operations.
- Measured greenhouse gas emissions and developed comprehensive, verifiable records of emission reductions to preserve value for possible future use.
- Explored the use of alternative energy sources, including solar, wind, biofuels, and biomass, with particular emphasis on state incentives for use (such as solar power in Arizona).
- Advised on changes to corporate governance to detect and deal with impending risk from climate change regulation.
- Prepared affirmative public relations messages and required disclosures concerning efforts to protect the climate.
- Drafted the Solar and Clean Energy Act of 2008, an initiative for California’s November 2008 ballot.
- Negotiated contracts for geothermal, cogeneration, and renewable resource power.
- Represented the limited partners of solar generating projects following the bankruptcy filing by the related construction entity.
- Developed an overall business plan for the manufacturing, distribution, and development of a solar photovoltaic company.
- Represented a rooftop solar panel manufacturer and installer in all regulatory, contractual and financing matters.
Developing Green Projects and Counseling Businesses
The range of energy technologies being deployed to reduce or eliminate greenhouse gas emissions is expanding rapidly, encompassing not only renewable sources like wind and solar power, but also nuclear energy, hydroelectricity, clean coal technology, carbon sequestration, and numerous other alternatives, including fuels such as cellulosic ethanol and biodiesel. Our clients seek our assistance not only with project siting, but also to maximize their exploitation of complex energy- and utility-oriented regulations. The Practice has complementary experience in representing the energy industry and in siting sizable projects locally.
Selected Experience
- Advised on development and financing of various biomass and biofuels energy projects, including ethanol facilities, in the Americas, Asia, and Europe.
- Represented real estate developments featuring green building design (LEED), stormwater containment, small hydroelectric usage, and a large-scale solar farm.
- Represented a large-scale commercial provider of solar product installation and grid-sellback services in construction licensing agreements in 15 different states, corporate Mergers and Acqusitions and entity formation in Delaware and California and energy research, including tariff analysis, in California and Hawaii.
- Represented an entertainment industry association in conjunction with its Solid Waste Packaging Initiative to reduce the waste associated with compact disk packaging and to adopt environmentally sustainable packaging material.
- Represented a residential and commercial provider of solar product installation in construction licensing and rebate management programs.
- Represented a wind energy limited partnership in tax matters.
- Represented the limited partners of solar generating station projects following the bankruptcy filing by the related construction entity.
- Represented client in development and financing of various alternative energy facilities in California, including oil fields, cogeneration facilities, and geothermal facilities.
- Represented business in project to create natural gas in a clean coal gasification technology and use by a retrofitted coal-fired electric generation unit.
- Advised business in efforts to remove hydrogen and other gases from coal and petroleum coke for use in electric generation.
- Represented business with interests in carbon dioxide sequestration and use for enhanced oil recovery.
- Represented a large, liquefied natural gas import and regasification project.
- Represented a commercial developer of solar thermal electric projects in the construction of nine power plants in California.
- Represented client in development of waste-to-energy power plants in Italy and the United States.
- Developed an overall business plan for the manufacturing, distribution, and development of a solar photovoltaic company.
- Represented a rooftop solar panel manufacturer and installer in dealing with regulatory aspects of business plan.
- Prepared affirmative public relations messages and required disclosures concerning efforts to protect the climate.
- Advised businesses on how to properly advertise and maximize the value of green claims.
Financing Projects and Procuring and Trading Credits
Of course, before a project can be sited, it must be financed. Manatt’s Climate Change Practice has expertise in identifying capital market investment sources and leveraging government and other incentives that make previously impossible projects feasible.
Venture capitalists increasingly target renewable energy projects, and Manatt’s substantial contacts with the venture capital community enable us to act as advisor to project developers requiring connections with venture and private equity funds. Our clients include such venture capital companies as Bedrock Capital, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Chanin Capital Partners, Communications Ventures, Gerard Klauer Mattison & Co., Sand Hill Capital and Labrador Ventures. We understand how our private equity and venture capital clients think and operate, and work with them as business partners. In energy development transactions we help clients evaluate the risks and rewards, decide which concerns are most important, and complete the transaction to the maximum advantage of everyone involved.
We actively monitor the near-term potential for opportunities from international, federal, state, and regional programs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, working with clients to achieve emissions reduction goals. Because of our broad industry experience, we have the regulatory, tax, and economic knowledge to help investors maximize their monetization of revenue streams through the use of:
- Renewable Energy Credits
- Renewable Fuel Standard Credits
- Emission Reduction Credits
- Carbon Equivalent Credits/Carbon Credits
- U.S. Emissions Reduction Credits
- Tax/Non-Tax Incentives
Managing Risk and Promoting Adaptation
Climate change poses varying degrees of risk to every business. Manatt’s traditional strengths in the banking and insurance sectors inform the Practice’s approach to advising these industries how to reduce risks. Where there is risk, there is also opportunity. By properly accounting for climate-induced risks, these businesses can safely finance or insure a wider variety of concerns, squeezing more out of increasingly competitive markets. Bankers and insurers may need to encourage progressive steps by their customers to adapt to climate change and mitigate these risks.
Selected Experience
- Advised on changes to corporate governance to detect and deal with impending risk from climate change regulation.
- Prepared affirmative public relations messages and required disclosures concerning efforts to protect the climate.
- Represented an entertainment industry association in conjunction with its Solid Waste Packaging Initiative to reduce the waste associated with compact disk packaging and to adopt environmentally sustainable packaging material.
Litigating Climate-Related Matters
In an area as controversial and potentially costly as mitigating and adapting to climate change, litigation will inevitably result. Manatt’s Litigation Division stands ready to assist our clients when the need arises.
Selected Experience
- Successfully defended well-known discount store in high-profile litigation brought by well-funded environmental group challenging siting of store in Riverside County. The environmental group advanced claims under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) claiming that the project did not adequately describe and mitigate impacts of the project on climate change. These claims were universally rejected by the Superior Court of Riverside County, California.
- Advised multiple energy company clients on federal lawsuits alleging nuisance claims for climate change-related damages, including substantial analysis and pretrial motion work on political question, nonjusticiability and causation issues.
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