Earlier this month, BEIS (the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy) started to accept applications for grants under Phase I of its Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (IETF). The IETF, first announced by the UK government in August 2018, is slated to provide £315 million in funding by 2024 to support a shift to
Chinese Supreme Court swims against current on liability under Bunker Convention
The PRC Supreme Court has deviated from the accumulated legal precedent regarding liability for pollution under the International Convention on Civil Liability for Bunker Oil Pollution Damage (the Bunker Convention) and held the owners of a non-leaking vessel liable for clean-up costs and pollution damage.
Continue Reading Chinese Supreme Court swims against current on liability under Bunker Convention
REACH update: ECHA adds 18 SVHCs to the Authorisation List
Following on from the consultations carried out in 2018, and as had been expected, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) announced yesterday that it will move to add 18 substances of very high concern (SVHC) to Annex XIV of the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH), i.e. the “Authorisation List”.
As a reminder, substances included on the Authorisation List cannot be “placed on the market” or used after a given date – the ‘sunset date’ – unless a user obtains authorisation from ECHA or where the use itself is exempt. The list of substances and their common commercial uses, annexed to the ECHA announcement, is replicated below (please click on the image to enlarge).Continue Reading REACH update: ECHA adds 18 SVHCs to the Authorisation List
EU consultation watch: EU Commission launches new consultations on RoHS and ELV directives
The European Commission is inviting interested parties to submit their comments and concerns related to EU legislation on the following topics:
- The Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive: This is merely a generic request for feedback. The Commission will be releasing a revised RoHS Directive in 2021 and is, therefore, offering a chance for industry to have its say on the effectiveness of the RoHS Directive in its current form, so that, in its words, the revisions to the Directive are able to strike a balance in protecting the rights and interests of all the affected stakeholder groups.
The purpose of this consultation is to gather views on how the restriction of hazardous substances in electronic products works in practice: what works well, what does not and why. Any submissions should be prepared and submitted in the manner prescribed on the consultation page. The last date for submissions is 6 December 2019.Continue Reading EU consultation watch: EU Commission launches new consultations on RoHS and ELV directives