Our expertises
ENVIRONMENT
Environmental tax
The lawyers of the “Environmental Law” team have developed a recognized competence in taxation and environmental parafiscality, a vehicle par excellence for preventive environmental policies and incentives for public authorities.
The field of intervention of the department in this area covers:
- TGAP (waste, polluting emissions, energy products, etc.),
- VAT (products generating waste, waste, energy and materials produced from waste, etc.),
- TIC (energy products),
- the TEOM,
- incentive pricing,
- the local waste tax,
- eco-contributions and support to communities within EPR policies.
Energy law
The Environment team advises its clients on energy production and supply.
Apart from the main energy sectors (nuclear installations, gas transport and storage, petroleum storage units, etc.), the team assists clients in their development of new and renewable energies (wind farms, green fuels, hydraulic installations, etc.).
Industrial environmental law
UGGC Africa has a specialised team (one partner and two associates) capable of providing precise and practical answers to its clients’ environmental issues as well as integrating or enhancing these within an overall strategy defined in collaboration with other departments in the firm.
The main areas of expertise of the Environment team are: Restricted Installation law, Mining law, Refuse law, Energy law, Water law and Land law.
The Environment team in particular assists clients through the entire life-cycle of an industrial or infrastructure project:
- At the design phase of the project or in replying to a call to tender/PPP offer (preliminary definition and review of environmental constraints, project feasibility study in a specific location, etc.)
- Throughout administrative procedures necessary for the setting up and operation of the project (permit applications, assessing impacts and dangers, fire hazards, public enquiries, etc.)
- Throughout operation whether in terms of litigation concerning operation permits, managing relations with authorities and approval procedures or managing relations with third parties (contracts, civil liability litigation, etc.)
- Disposing of assets or buying concerns
- Project completion stage and site restoration.
The Environment team also assists its clients regarding all the various environmental laws applicable to their activities (emissions allowance transactions, REACH directive, etc.).
Industrial permits
The Environment team assists and advises its clients in all phases of their industrial activities, particularly relating to classified installations (storage units and waste treatment, extracting activities, petroleum installations, etc.), mining law, regulatory frameworks concerning water and applicable to the various energy sectors (nuclear activities, gas transport and storage, petroleum installations, renewable energies, etc.).
In this regard, the Environment team advises its clients in their applications for the permits required for their industrial activities.
The team also assists in drafting reports to State authorities throughout the operation, right up to project completion.
Finally, in addition to its advisory services, the Environment team assists its clients in litigation relating to the operation of its industrial activities (litigation concerning operational permits before the Administrative Court, contractual responsibility or negligence litigation before the Civil Court, cases of environmental criminal responsibility before the Criminal Court).
Infrastructure projects
The Environment team advises on the environmental constraints linked to large infrastructure projects (motorway projects, hospital sites, prisons, etc.) and assists its clients in drafting tender offers/PPP.
The Environment team also assists its clients in setting up and managing these projects (permit applications, managing relations with authorities, etc.).
Finally, the Environment team handles litigation relating to infrastructure projects (public works declaration litigation, administrative permit litigation, liability litigation, etc.).
Waste law
Waste life cycle management is at the heart of the environmental expertise of UGGC Africa ’ “Environmental Law” team.
With a detailed knowledge of the waste processing professions, the team works on a variety of subjects ranging from the put into circulation of the waste-generating material to the reuse of waste as resources:
The put into circulation of the waste-generating material:
- extended producer responsibility (EPR),
- eco-design and obsolescence management,
- marking of the products and environmental communication,
- tax (eco-contributions, TIC, VAT),
- preventives policies.
Waste management:
- collection, transport and cross-border movement of waste,
- trade in waste,
- sorting, recycling, recovery and disposal of waste,
- traceability of waste,
- Tax (TGAP, TEOM),
- waste management policies,
- responsibility of the stakeholders in the waste management chain.
Reuse of waste as resources:
- conditions for the re-use of waste material (REACH, POPs, etc.),
- exit from waste status,
- experimentation,
- tax (TGAP, VAT),
- incentives policies.
Environemental law for M&A operations
The Environment team also handles issues concerning the acquisition or disposal of industrial sites and polluted sites: the team identifies the risks links to these operations and assists clients particularly in the drafting of environmental responsibility contractual clauses.
The team also assists its clients in drafting reports to authorities when disposing of or acquiring industrial sites or polluted sites (operating permit transfers, expropriation classification for public works, etc.).
Finally, the team handles all litigation in relation to disposal/acquisitions operations.
