As the world’s leading energy law firm, Vinson & Elkins has been at the forefront of climate change law, both in pursuing opportunities and managing risks created by this rapidly changing and uncertain area of law. For clients that see opportunity, we have structured carbon offset projects, formed “green” investment funds, assisted with renewable energy transactions, and handled related tax, permitting, and regulatory issues. That experience makes V&E qualified to help energy producers, energy consumers, and investors navigate the path to a lower-carbon future. For clients that experience or foresee risks to greenhouse gas emissions, we have defended nuisance cases, challenged rules to impose greenhouse gas controls under the Clean Air Act and related state laws, and provided strategic counseling.

Our Climate Change practice is organized on an interdisciplinary, cross-office basis to counsel clients on the many new legal risks associated with climate change, as well as to help them profit from emerging opportunities. Our team can counsel clients on a range of areas from term sheets to financing, from environmental due diligence to permitting, from IP protection to downstream licenses, and from contracting for emission allowances to compliance audits.

The Climate Change group draws upon numerous practice areas, including policy/legislative, project finance, energy regulation, environmental regulation, tax, litigation, intellectual property, and capital markets and securities. In addition, V&E's Climate Change practice group has a legislative issues tracking group in our Washington, DC office.

Vinson & Elkins lawyers have worked on climate change-related issues involving multiple countries around the world. That wide international reach is especially valuable because of the global effects of climate change.

• Represented a private equity group in environmental matters pertaining to the leveraged buyout of a Texas energy company, which was the largest leveraged buyout in history; the transaction included negotiation of environmental policies under which the newly privatized company significantly reduced its planned coal-fueled generation units; an agreement that was endorsed by a major environmental group
• Represented a leading green building association in its development of a new CO₂ emission reduction strategy for the association and assisted in communicating the same strategy to the federal community and other trade associations
• Counseled oil and gas exploration company on Texas legislative and administrative issues regarding carbon capture and storage and other climate change issues
• Advised midstream energy company on provisions to align future greenhouse gas allowance requirements with the structure of its customer contracts 

• V&E has a dedicated Climate Change regulatory and legislative issues tracking program in Washington, DC
• Advised clients on the regulatory implications of federal greenhouse gas legislation, including the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (ACESA)
• Advised clients on the impact of various clean energy and energy policy legislation on carbon regulation and policy

• Counsel to lead petitioner group in DC Circuit challenges to EPA initiative to regulate GHG under Clean Air Act
• Prepared federal court amicus brief regarding the application of existing judicial remedies to GHG emissions
• Counsel in matter involving the successful dismissal of post Katrina claims against number of companies in federal court in Louisiana based on global warming-related claims
• Counsel to electric utility challenging development of “climate nuisance” rules in New Mexico
• Represented applicants for permits to construct new fossil-fuel-fired electric power generating facilities in contested permit proceedings where the carbon dioxide emissions of the facilities were a key factor in the permitting process

• Represented an international energy company in connection with developing Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects in China
• Represented a public-private cooperative to develop a large scale zero emission integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power project with carbon sequestration
• Assisted a foreign industrial producer in negotiating a contract for certified emission reduction credits under the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism
• Represented a Kentucky integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) plant in its due diligence and negotiation of environmental provisions for a facility that will sequester CO₂ as part of its operations
• Represented HgCapital on its acquisition of a majority interest in the €275 million Hasvnas wind farm, which is Sweden's largest onshore wind farm and included the first non-recourse project financing in the Nordic power market; this deal was named the 2008 “Renewables Deal of the Year” by Infrastructure Journal
• Representation of eSolar in connection with its transaction with NRG Energy, Inc. for the development of three solar thermal power plants totaling up to 500 MW in the U.S.
• Represented Leaf Clean Energy Company in connection with its investment in MaxWest Environmental Systems, Inc., a waste-to-energy/biomass technology company
• Representation of BP Alternative Energy in connection with the joint venture development of the 5,050 MW Titan wind project in South Dakota, which will be one of the world's largest wind farms once completed
• Advising a consortium comprising Hydrogen Energy International Limited (jointly owned by BP and Rio Tinto) and Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company on the feasibility of development and financing of a hydrogen power plant with carbon capture and storage; this is a highly innovative project that, if developed, would result in a very significant reduction in carbon emissions in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi
• Represented an investment banking firm in connection with the acquisition of a 50 percent interest in three wind power generation facilities located in California and Wyoming with a total of 152.4 MW, formation of project company with the seller and project financing of these facilities; this representation included tax and legal due diligence, negotiation of the purchase agreement, the LLC agreement for the project company, and the financing documents for project financing of the facilities and associated production tax credits on a limited recourse basis
• Representing an investment arm of a major U.S. corporation in the establishment of a joint venture company providing investment advice to a London AIM-listed company set up to invest in clean energy projects, with a particular focus on North America
• Represented an investment banking firm which provided equity capital for the development, construction, and operation of up to 25 solar power generation projects to be developed by a solar power developer and project financing of such projects; the projects involve facilities that will provide solar power to national retailers and certain state governmental entities in various parts of the U.S.; the representation included tax and legal due diligence, negotiation of joint venture agreements, solar service agreements, solar panel supply contacts, operating and maintenance agreements, and financing documents for limited recourse financing of each project
• Advised international financial institution on Joint Implementation (JI) project in Ukraine
• Represented an energy company in connection with the execution of a long-term wind turbine supply agreement with a wind turbine manufacturer for the purchase of up to 900 wind turbines over five years and the formation of a joint venture with the manufacturer for the joint development of wind power projects in Texas, South Dakota, and New York with an anticipated capacity of over 2,000 MW
• Represented an investment banking firm in connection with the acquisition of a majority interest in a 49.8 MW wind power generation facility in Oregon, and formation of a project company with the seller and project financing of this facility; this representation included tax and legal due diligence, negotiation of the purchase agreement, the LLC agreement for the project company, and the financing documents for project financing of the facility on a limited recourse basis
• Represented parties developing, investing in, acquiring, and financing geothermal, solar, ethanol, biodiesel, and wind projects in countries including Brazil, China, Costa Rica, Denmark, France, Italy, the Philippines, Mexico, the U.K., and across the United States