Climate Change & Energy overview

We provide wide-ranging expert advice in the climate change & energy markets

Our Climate Change & Energy group specialises in sustainable energy, electricity, coal and upstream oil and gas.

Issues such as climate change and sustainable energy are increasingly in the public eye and on the government agenda. As a result, energy producers, suppliers, distributors and property developers face increasing scrutiny, legislation and regulation and, in turn, need accurate and practical legal advice more than ever before. We can help.

Our solicitors advise the promoters of low carbon energy and renewables schemes. We also advise on the procurement of low carbon energy or state-of-the-art utility systems suitable for alternative energy distribution.  We have experience of the emissions trading markets, in particular the EU Emissions Trading Scheme and the Clean Development Mechanism.

We have a rapidly expanding sustainable energy practice. This includes acting and fundraising for clean technology companies and environmentally compatible energy schemes and advising on policy and regulation.

We are also a prominent legal adviser in the marketplace for coal and other minerals. We advise both the Coal Authority and UK Coal, the UK’s largest coal producer, on surface mining, wind power and methane extraction, as well as providing general corporate, property, banking and litigation advice.

Our expert advice covers a range of issues, including environmental, regulatory, construction and property, corporate and intellectual property matters. Our clients span the entire energy market – government agencies responsible for developing policy and overseeing its implementation, electricity generators charged with producing low emission power, and property developers required to deliver low or zero carbon housing and commercial developments. We also advise major UK industrial and commercial energy users on the on-site generation and off-site purchase of low carbon energy.

Our latest alerts, briefings & reports
Nabarro briefings and reports
  • ONEL: what constitutes genuine use of a Community Trade Mark?  
On 19 December 2012, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) handed down its long-anticipated judgment in the ONEL/OMEL case. This reference from the Court of Appeal of the Hague sought guidance on the question of whether use of a Community Trade Mark (CTM) in a single member state constitutes genuine use in the Community.  View full briefing
  • Simplified CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme to stay put until 2016  
DECC has undertaken a number of consultations on the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme (CRC) since October 2010, looking at ways of reforming and simplifying it. However, the Chancellor, in his spring budget, branded the CRC cumbersome and bureaucratic, saying it left participants confused over allowance sales, group participation and qualification criteria. This encouraged many to believe that the CRC would be scrapped. So it came as a surprise when the Government announced last week that a “simplified” CRC would remain until at least 2016. View full briefing
  • The Energy Bill 2012: ROCS vs CfD FiTS?  
On Thursday 29 November, the Coalition Government introduced its long-awaited Energy Bill (the Bill) into Parliament. Viewed by the Government as "essential legislation to power low-carbon economic growth, to protect consumers and to keep the lights on", the Bill sets out changes to the way in which low-carbon energy projects are incentivised and how electricity from them is traded.  View full briefing
  • The Energy Bill: Levies for low-carbon energy rise  
On Thursday 29 November, the Coalition Government introduced its long-awaited Energy Bill (the Bill) into Parliament. View full briefing
  • OHIM's box-ticking approach to class heading filings fails to tick all the right boxes   
Community Trade Mark (CTM) applicants beware. OHIM (the CTM office) has again (15 October 2012) changed its practice on filings for "class headings". View full briefing
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