Company: BRK-A
Filing Date: 2025-02-24
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0000950170-25-025210
Chunk: 21

Company: BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC
Filing Date: 2025-02-24
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1
Chunk 21
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 and its energy businesses are subject to federal, state, local and foreign laws and regulations regarding air quality, climate change, emissions performance standards, water quality, coal ash disposal and other environmental matters that have the potential to impact current and future operations. In addition to imposing continuing compliance obligations, these laws and regulations, such as the Federal Clean Air Act, provide regulators with the authority to levy substantial penalties for noncompliance, including fines, injunctive relief and other sanctions.

The Federal Clean Air Act, as well as state laws and regulations impacting air emissions, provides a framework for protecting and improving the nation’s air quality and controlling sources of air emissions. The implementation of these laws and regulations may impact the operation of BHE’s generating facilities, including requiring reductions in emissions at those facilities to comply with the requirements. In addition, the potential adoption of state or federal clean energy standards, which include low-carbon, non-carbon and renewable electricity generating resources, may also impact electricity generators and natural gas providers. 

K-9

In December 2015, an international agreement was negotiated by 195 nations to create a universal framework for coordinated action on climate change in what is referred to as the Paris Agreement. The Paris Agreement reaffirms the goal of limiting global temperature increase well below 2 degrees Celsius, while urging efforts to limit the increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius and reaching a global peak of GHG emissions as soon as possible to achieve climate neutrality by mid-century; establishes commitments by all parties to make nationally determined contributions and pursue domestic measures aimed at achieving the commitments; commits all countries to submit emissions inventories and report regularly on their emissions and progress made in implementing and achieving their nationally determined commitments; and commits all countries to submit new commitments every five years, with the expectation that the commitments will be more aggressive in reducing GHG emissions. In the context of the Paris Agreement, the U.S. agreed to reduce GHG emissions by 26% to 28% from 2005 levels by 2025. The Paris Agreement formally became effective on November 4, 2016; however, the U.S. completed its withdrawal from the Paris Agreement on November 4, 2020. President Biden accepted the terms of the climate agreement on January 20, 2021, and the U.S. completed its reentry on February 19, 2021. New commitments to the Paris Agreement were announced in April 2021, with the U.S. pledging to cut its overall GHG emissions by 50%