Climate Strategy

At Preti Flaherty, we believe we have a duty to help our civilization meet the challenge of climate change, the most pressing issue of our time. So we have founded the Climate Strategy Group to help businesses, government and NGO's reduce society's greenhouse gas emissions quickly, effectively and at the lowest reasonable cost.

Climate change will significantly affect many aspects of North America's environment. This, in turn, will have far-reaching impacts on businesses and our business climate. The international community is vigorously seeking comprehensive action to address the issue, and the U.S. government has become markedly more aggressive in establishing related policies.

As governments accept the reality of climate change, businesses and other institutions face two complex risks: climate change itself, and the reactions of many levels of government to the threat of climate change. Both risks have serious implications. Preti Flaherty's Climate Strategy Group believes that these risks can and should be mitigated by sound strategies.

What Our Climate Strategy Attorneys Can Do For Your Business
With key expertise from our energy, environmental, intellectual property, business and legislative practice groups, the Climate Strategy Group helps clients deal with both the risks and the opportunities presented by climate change:

• Providing clients with information on the scientific aspects of climate change, as well as public and political opinion about climate change;
• Helping clients understand, affect and benefit from greenhouse gas regulation laws and policies, such as imminent legislation.
• Offering changes in both proposed government actions and existing policies and clients' business operations to reduce costs and maximize potential revenue streams;
• Utilizing the legal system, legislation and policy making to bring those changes to fruition;
• Forming multi-faceted teams of legislative, corporate, international, environmental, and energy attorneys to anticipate and meet complex challenges for clients;
• Access State and Federal grant, loan and guarantee approvals for energy generation or conservation technologies, including SmartGrid technologies;
• Restructure your energy consumption so less fuel is burned and you are paid for the benefit your restructured consumption confers on the electric grid;
• Develop, permit and finance renewable energy and micro-cogeneration projects to reduce your energy costs and your carbon footprint;
• Design projects eligible for energy conservation funding from and negotiate contracts with Efficiency Maine Trust, Efficiency Vermont, Mass Renewable Energy Trust and other State and Federal entities.

The Climate Strategy Group has already built a climate of success assisting business and government to "fight climate change right" by helping:

• Large energy consumers reform the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a cap and trade carbon reduction program covering nine states, including Maine, to more effectively reduce carbon emissions and to minimally affect consumers' electric rates.
• New England consumers supply hundreds of megawatts of "demand response" to reduce peak power needs in New England – and to be paid for their sacrifices.
• Consumers reduce energy consumption by more than one hundred million kilowatt hours, saving millions of dollars for them.
• Conceive, develop and finance SmartGrid technologies, such as Gridsolar's revolutionary use of solar power arrays to "intercept" peak air conditioner-driven demand before it hits and hurts the transmission grid.
• Permit and finance community wind projects at reasonable costs.

There is so much more to be done, by all of us. Preti Flaherty's Climate Strategy Group is honored to do its part. Climate change is real. We will help you with the risks and the opportunities.