The Special Committee on Energy and Environmental Finance focuses on emerging techniques for the finance, development and risk management of energy, environment and resource projects and companies. In particular, it focuses on public and private development programs and initiatives to accelerate the interplay of technology and finance with environmental and energy regulatory law to support national security and sustainability.

A. Committee Purposes

• Deployment of energy programs in an environmentally sound manner under applicable provisions of the Energy Policy Act, other Federal programs, and applicable State programs, e.g., loan guarantees, tax subsidies, output purchase arrangements, other incentives for coal, renewable energy, and energy efficient technologies.
• Initiatives by Federal and State governments and international financial institutions to facilitate early stage new technology development, commercialization and transfer into the private sector, through involvement of private capital market sources.
• Facilitation of “green business” development through trading and monetization of energy and environmental credits and legal rights, including renewable energy credits, environmental resource credits, environmental mitigation rights and other internalized “externalities” (in conjunction with RER).
• Specific attention to emerging biofuels investment issues, including:
• Next generation technologies (particularly cellulosic ethanol, forest products, biomass gasification and biomass digestion).
• Integrated bioenergy facilities.
• US and international programs facilitating debt and structured finance programs through credit enhancement, risk management, and contingent capital.

B. Organization Principles

• The Committee will work closely with existing Section Committees on Renewable Energy Resources. It will be distinguished from, complement and avoid redundancy with its activities and (a) its focus on the business and commercial ramification for specific types of projects and companies of the surrounding body of regulatory law; and (b) the application to these projects of the sophisticated body of business law risk management techniques which have developed. The Committee will not focus on regulatory siting or environmental issues. These may be membership in both committees and there may be joint committee projects.
• Committee membership will be open to all interested parties (e.g., finance, engineering, economic consultants) in addition to lawyers, so that the interplay of technology and finance with energy and environmental law can be addressed. Cooperation with not-for-profit groups such as the ACORE will be sought actively.
• Specific committee efforts will be diverted toward cooperation with the U.S. Federal agencies, notably Energy, Agriculture, EPA and Defense, with a view to contributing to public policy development.
• The committee will strive to give the largest possible number of Committee members the broadest opportunity to disseminate their work and that of the Committee to bar and other private and public organizations and media, so as to maximize their relevance.

C. Deliverables of the Committee

Presently, it is contemplated (but still under review) that committee deliverables will include the following:

• Three teleconference(s) in conjunction with the Renewable Energy Resources Committee with respect to topics to Government incentive and International Financial Institution programs, bioenergy development renewables distributed generation finance.
• One specialized teleconference on topic to be selected.
• Year-in-Review report on portrait legislative, administrative, and judicial developments.
• Possible participation in ABA Annual or Section programs via specialized panels.
• Possible participation in programs and/or publications of non-profits or governmental bodies.
• Possible coordination/preparation of report with federal agencies, advisory, working groups and/or non-profit organizations.

Chair:
Roger D. Feldman

Vice Chairs:
Committee Newsletters
Robert Edwards

Membership
Michael J. Zimmer

Programs
C. Baird Brown

Donald S. McCauley, Jr.

Public Service
Terry Hall

Technology
Christine Senne

The Year in Review
M. Melissa Manda

Additional (Environmental Markets)
Christopher Berendt

Additional (ABA Liaison)
Edna R. Sussman

Additional (At Large)
Monica Schwebs

Additional (Clean Tech Programs)
David W. South

Additional (Financial Institutions)
Roger Stark

Additional (NGO and Liaison)
Steven Ferrey