Climate Change Law

• Jeremy Weinstein is a leading legal expert in energy trading and environmental finance.  He has negotiated and documented numerous physical and financial transactions covering millions of megawatt-hours and its equivalent in energy, emissions and fuels.  He is prominent in the most exciting, developing areas of environmental finance, advising major industrial companies on emissions trading and mitigation strategies relating to climate change and the Kyoto Protocol, California Renewable Portfolio Standard requirements, renewable resource development, and negotiating and documenting significant weather derivative transactions.   Jeremy Weinstein was awarded the 2007 Distinguished Service in Environmental Markets Award by the Environmental Markets Association.   He is co-chair of the joint ABA/EMA/ACORE working group that published a standard form of master renewable energy certificates trading contract.  He played a primary role with Canopy Botanicals, a Bolivian sustainable development company established to help fund the Noel Kempff Climate Action Project, a rainforest preservation joint venture of The Nature Conservancy, American Electric Power, PacifiCorp, and BP, and also worked on the Rio Bravo Carbon Sequestration Pilot Project, a rain forest preservation project in Belize funded by American utilities and others.  He has addressed national conferences on topics in climate change, weather derivatives, renewable energy certificates (also known as or "green tags") and emissions trading.

• His recent publications in the field include:

• "New Master Renewable Energy Certificate Trading Agreement," American Bar Association Energy Committees Newsletter, May 2007;

• "On the Path to Renewable Energy Certificates Derivatives," Futures & Derivatives Law Report, Apr. 2007;

• Introduction and Guidance Notes, ABA/EMA/ACORE Master Renewable Energy Certificate Purchase and Sale Agreement, Feb. 2007 (with other credited working group members);

• "Contracting for a Unified Renewable Energy Certificates Market," Environmental Finance, Nov. 2006;  

• "Standardizing Renewable Energy Certificates Contracting," Environmental Finance, May 2005;  

• "A Western Renewables Marketplace," Environmental Finance, Apr. 2004; 

• "Examining Enron's SO₂ Emission Trades," Environmental Finance, Mar. 2003;

• "Using the Emissions Marketing Association Master Agreement," The Emissions Trader, Mar. 2003; 

• "Carbon-Denominated Weather Swaps," Environmental Finance, Nov. 2001;

• "Weather Derivatives for Environmental Risk Management," Energy & Power Risk Management, Sep. 2001; and

• "Emissions Trading: The Market as Mystic," Energy & Power Risk Management, Nov. 2000.

• Projects on which he has worked include:

• PG&E's ClimateSmart Program (representing PG&E)

• Wolverine Creek 64.5MW wind farm (representing renewable energy PPA buyer PacifiCorp)

• Renewable energy for the NY Freedom Tower (representing renewable energy provider PPM Energy, Inc.)

• Noel Kempff Climate Action Project (representing investor PacifiCorp)

• BBC interview on international climate change policy, from Bolivia (realmedia file)

• His committee work includes:

  • Co-chair, ABA/EMA/ACORE Renewable Energy Certificates Trading Agreement Drafting Committee

    • Media coverage :

    • ABA/EMA/ACORE Renewable Energy Certificates Trading Agreement

    • ABA/EMA/ACORE Renewable Energy Certificates Trading Agreement

    • ABA/EMA/ACORE Renewable Energy Certificates Trading Agreement

  • Member, ISDA/Emissions Trading Annex Drafting Committee
  • Member, Western Renewable Energy Generation Information System Stakeholder Advisory Committee
  • Member, EMA Master Emissions Trading Agreement Drafting Committee

  • Member, ABA Renewable Energy Bar Section

• His educational credentials include an A.B., summa cum laude, (1982) University of California, Berkeley, Phi Beta Kappa; B.A. (1984) and M.A. in law, with honors, Trinity Hall, Cambridge University, England; and J.D. (1987) University of California.

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