Derived from the renowned multi-volume International Encyclopaedia of Laws, this book provides a systematic approach to legislation and legal practice concerning energy resources and production in International Energy Law. The book describes the administrative organization, regulatory framework, and relevant case law pertaining to the development, application, and use of such forms of energy as electricity, gas, petroleum, and coal, with attention as needed to the pervasive legal effects of competition law, environmental law, and tax law. A general introduction covers the geography of energy resources, sources and basic principles of energy law, and the relevant governmental institutions. Then follows a detailed description of specific legislation and regulation affecting such factors as documentation, undertakings, facilities, storage, pricing, procurement and sales, transportation, transmission, distribution, and supply of each form of energy. Case law, intergovernmental cooperation agreements, and interactions with environmental, tax, and competition law are explained. Its succinct yet scholarly nature, as well as the practical quality of the information it provides, make this book a valuable resource for energy sector policymakers and energy firm counsel handling cases affecting International Energy Law. It will also be welcomed by researchers and academics for its contribution to the study of a complex field that today stands at the foreground of comparative law.

The international legal rules affecting renewable alternative energy resources are amongst the most important legal and environmental concerns of the near future. As traditional energy sources are depleted, new technologies are being developed to harness the potentials of wave, current and tidal energy, coastal wind power, offshore geothermal, polar energy resources and space-based solar collection. This book is the first comprehensive analysis of the legal rules governing the alternative energy resource potential of all international common areas - the high seas, the polar zones (especially Antarctica) and outer space. In a detailed, but precisely analyzed text, the book also reviews the international environmental rules affecting exploration, exploitation and use of internationally situated energy resources, alongside resources located offshore under national jurisdictions. This is accompanied by a critical look at the connection between efforts to control greenhouse gases and the growing interest in non-polluting alternatives found in the international "commons . The result is a work of unprecedented value for environmental and international law academics and practitioners, as well as those interested in environmental resource economics and politics.

Long term contracts have been used in the international petroleum industry since its earliest days. However, they have been prone to unilateral revision by host governments in countries where the petroleum reserves are located. In the 1970s a wave of nationalisations and contract renegotiations led to a number of much cited arbitral awards and significant changes in contracting practice in the international petroleum industry. Recently, it has become clear that a new wave of unilateral state action is taking place in the international petroleum industry, most evidently in Latin America and Russia. These developments increase the tempo of a long-term process in which the exposure of largely privately owned Western energy companies to unilateral state action has been increasing. The book asks: how have legal processes and instruments developed to mitigate that growing exposure, and why have they had so little success? This monograph examines and assesses the variety of legal instruments from international and commercial law that have been designed to promote stability in long-term contracts in the international energy industry (including dedicated contract provisions, bilateral investment treaties and multilateral treaty instruments). It covers both energy production and networks involving large-scale fixed infrastructure. It pays particular attention to their practical impact through an analysis of their enforcement by arbitration tribunals and bodies, such as the ICSID, the ICC and the LCIA. The book also examines the growing challenges presented by environmental and 'social' risk to the stability of long-term agreements. The book's approach is both analytical and historical, locating legal instruments and enforcement awards in their context, discussing their origins and purpose.

This book offers an edited volume for all readers who wish to gain an in-depth grasp of the economic analysis of recent developments in energy law and policy in Europe and the United States. In response to waning resources and heightened environmental awareness, many countries are now seeking to redefine their energy mix. Several energy sources are available: coal and oil, natural gas, and a variety of renewables. Yet which of them are capable of addressing core energy-related concerns? Reliability, security, affordability, fairness, and sustainability all have to be taken into account. Further, once a target mix has been identified, two challenges remain for legal scholars: what role does the law play in achieving a specified energy mix, and, how can the law best fulfill that role? The essential energy concerns are just as important in defining the way we shape our energy mix as they are in defining the mix itself. An example of current challenges in energy law and policy can be seen in the pursuit by the German and Swiss governments of the so-called “Energiewende” (energy transition). These policies are intended to enable the transition from a non-sustainable use of fossil and nuclear energy to a more sustainable approach based on renewable energies. On the one hand, the goal is to achieve a decarbonization of the energy economy by reducing the use of fossil energy sources such as petroleum, carbon and natural gas. On the other, and in response to the Fukushima nuclear accident, a phase out is intended to eliminate the dangers of nuclear technologies. Achieving these goals poses tremendous challenges for the two countries’ energy policies – partly because the energy transition will not only affect energy production, but also energy consumption. From a Law and Economics perspective, a number of questions arise: to what extent is it justifiable to rely on markets and continued technological innovation, especially with regard to the present exploitation of scarce resources? To what extent is it necessary for states to intervene in energy markets? Regulatory instruments are available to create and maintain more sustainable societies: command and control regulations, restraints, Pigovian taxes, emission certificates, nudging policies, and more. If regulation in a certain legal field is necessary, which policies and methods will most effectively spur the sustainable consumption and production of energy in order to protect the environment while mitigating any potential negative impacts on economic development? Do neoclassical and behavioural economics provide us with a suitable framework for predicting the market’s complex reactions to a changing energy policy? This book provides theoretical insights as well as empirical findings in order to answer these vital questions.

Ensuring an adequate, long-term energy supply is a paramount concern in Europe. EU member states now intervene by encouraging investment in generation capacity, offering an additional revenue stream for conventional power plants in addition to the existing, heavily subsidised investments in renewable energy sources. These capacity remuneration mechanisms (or simply capacity mechanisms) have become a hot topic in the wider European regulatory debate. European electricity markets are increasingly interconnected, so the introduction of a capacity mechanism in one country not only distorts its national market but may have unforeseeable consequences for neighbouring electricity markets. If these mechanisms are adopted by several member states with no supra-national coordination and no consideration for their cross-border impact, they may cause serious market distortions and put the future of the European internal electricity market at risk. This book provides readers with an in-depth analysis of capacity mechanisms, written by an expert team of policy-makers, economists, and legal professionals. It will be a first point of reference for regulators and policy-makers responsible for designing optimal capacity mechanisms in Europe, and will be an invaluable resource for academics and practitioners in the fields of energy, regulation, and competition.

Carbon Capture and Storage in International Energy Policy and Law identifies the main contemporary regulatory requirements, challenges and opportunities involving CCS from a comparative and interdisciplinary perspective. It draws on the scholarship of renowned researchers across the fields of international energy law and policy to address CCS regulation and its impact on climate change, sustainable development, and related consequences for energy transition. In this vein, the book aims to address issues related to energy, energy justice and climate changes (including CCS technology). Contributors discuss the main challenges and advantages concerning international energy and the forms CCS may contribute to energy security, climate change, adaptation and mitigation of GHG emissions and sustainable development. In this light, the book discusses CCS as a bridge that integrates international energy, climate change and sustainable development. - Covers contemporary regulatory command-and-control and market incentive instruments across the local, regional and/or international spheres in-depth and in comparison - Reviews deregulatory impacts, modern financing of CCS, liability of the involved parties, and pertinent environmental issues - Addresses sociotechnical aspects of CCS and its specific impact on the international arena - Discusses the interplay of carbon capture and storage, renewables and the overall energy transition, current pathways to sustainable development