BELGIUM Trends and Developments Contributed by: Pieter Puelinckx, Yves Moreau, Bénédicte Deboeck and Melissa Verplancke, Linklaters
ties to create a unified regulatory framework. It also plans a sector-funded compensation fund for PFAS damages. Belgium’s regional authori - ties handle environmental issues, so approaches and measures vary across its regions (Flemish, Brussels-Capital, and Walloon). Regional legislators have recently adopted sev - eral measures to combat PFAS contamination, including the following. • In the Flemish and Brussels-Capital regions, the environmental authorities (OVAM and Brussels Environment) have adopted new guidelines for soil contamination experts to base their investigations on PFAS, includ - ing investigation criteria, risk assessment, remediation measures, and excavated soil treatment. • The Flemish region has created an online map allowing third parties to determine potential PFAS contamination in specific areas. • The Walloon region is currently investigating and gathering data on PFAS presence, and aims at creating a map similar to the Flemish region and updating the relevant PFAS treat - ment guidelines. • The Flemish region has adopted a co- financing procedure to support landowners and operators in conducting descriptive soil investigations related to PFAS contamination from firefighting activities and fire extinguish - ing exercises. ESG ESG is everywhere and this is no different in the real estate sector. Emissions Trading System for buildings On 18 and 25 April 2023, the European Parlia - ment and the Council respectively adopted key legislation to reform the European Emissions
Trading System (ETS). As part of this reform, a new separate ETS II will be rolled out, covering emissions from fuel supplied to road transport, buildings and parts of the manufacturing indus - try (not already covered by the existing ETS). ETS II will put a price on these emissions from 2027 – although this could yet be postponed to 2028 to protect consumers if energy prices are exceptionally high at that time. In the course of 2024, the Belgian regional leg - islators started to submit bills to parliament and enact legislation in relation to those provisions of the ETS legislation that need to be transposed into national law. The pending bills, as, for exam - ple, introduced in the Brussels-Capital region on 13 November 2024, can be expected to be voted on in 2025. They encompass the obliga - tion for regulated entities (such as suppliers) to obtain a greenhouse gas permit and to conduct certain monitoring and reporting requirements. Suppliers will most probably pass on the costs of complying with ETS II obligations to building owners and tenants, emphasising the impor - tance of energy efficiency, energy neutrality, and distributed generation for self-sufficient buildings. The new Social Climate Fund (to be funded in part by revenue from the auction of allowances under the new ETS II) will be used to ease the burden on (vulnerable) consumers through temporary direct income support meas - ures. In the context of emissions reduction, it will also be important to look at “embodied carbon” . This refers to CO₂ emitted in the construction and demolition of a building, as opposed to its oper - ation. Studies show that the embodied emis - sions of a building range between 67–76% of a building’s total carbon emissions over a lifetime. This emphasises the need to take a whole-life-
152 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook