Risky Business? The Energy Charter Treaty, Renewable Energy, and Investor-State Disputes

2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 451-471 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyla Tienhaara ◽  
Christian Downie
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
Law And Economics ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Energy Transition ◽  
Clean Energy ◽  
Dispute Settlement Mechanism ◽  
Global Energy ◽  
Investment Treaty ◽  
Energy Charter Treaty

Abstract Global energy governance has received increased attention from scholars and policymakers in recent years. Much of the discussion has focused on the inadequacy of the current institutional architecture, particularly in light of the urgent need to decarbonize energy systems. However, little attention has been given to the capacity of global institutions to promote investment in renewable energy. This article considers claims by proponents of the Energy Charter Treaty, the most developed trade and investment treaty in the global energy architecture, that it can play an important role in this regard. Specifically, it examines the ECT’s investor-state dispute settlement mechanism. Drawing on scholarship in global governance, law, and economics and an analysis of recent investor-state disputes, the article argues that there are problems with the assumptions underlying the claims of the ECT’s proponents. Critically, there is still a lack of evidence that the ECT has a positive impact on flows of investment in any sector, including the renewable energy sector. There is also a risk that ISDS could be used by the fossil fuel industry to impede a clean energy transition. States should approach accession to the ECT with caution and consider other mechanisms to reduce risk for renewable energy investors.

scholarly journals Unlocking Opportunities in Renewable Energy Technologies in Africa: The Role of Development Financial Institutions

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 92-110
Author(s):  
Oluwaseun Viyon Ojo
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Financial Institutions ◽  
Energy Transition ◽  
Clean Energy ◽  
Global Energy ◽  
Renewable Energy Technologies ◽  
Energy Technologies ◽  
The Impact

Climate change and global warming are undeniably undermining global development with developing or emerging economies being the worse hit in this unfortunate development. In recent times, it has become necessary to adopt effective adaptation measures that mitigate the impact of climate change on the social, political, and economic environment. A global shift to low-carbon energy technologies through the gradual integration of renewable energy resources in the global energy mix has been generally proposed. Whilst legal and regulatory initiatives are indeed crucial in driving this global energy transition, it is equally imperative that the necessary capital is unlocked to finance the construction, development, and expansion of renewable energy projects in Africa. This paper focused on examining the impact of renewable energy technologies on climate change mitigation, and analysed the role of Development Financial Institutions (DFIs) in unlocking the vast opportunities associated with renewable energy technologies or projects, with a view to driving the clean energy transition in Africa.

Retooling the Energy Charter Treaty for climate change mitigation: lessons from investment law and arbitration

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 75-87
Author(s):  
Elena Cima
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Change Mitigation ◽  
Energy Transition ◽  
Clean Energy ◽  
Careful Analysis ◽  
Energy Trade ◽  
Energy Charter Treaty ◽  
Scope Of Application ◽  
Modernization Process ◽  
Change Mitigation

Abstract In 2017, the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) began a modernization process aimed at updating, clarifying, and modernizing a number of provisions of the Treaty. Considering the scope of application of the Treaty—cooperation in energy trade, transit, and investment—there is hardly any doubt that the modernization kicked off in 2017 offers a springboard for constructive reform and a unique opportunity to bring the Treaty closer in line with the objectives of the Paris Agreement. Although none of the items selected by the Energy Charter Conference and open for discussion and reform mention climate change or clean energy, a careful analysis of the relevant practice in both treaty drafting and adjudication can provide valuable insights as to how to steer the discussions on some of the existing items in a climate-friendly direction. The purpose of this article is to rely on this relevant practice to explore promising avenues to ‘retool’ the Treaty for climate change mitigation, in other words, to imagine a Treaty that would better reflect climate change concerns and clean energy transition goals.

scholarly journals DEFINITION OF DRIVING FACTORS FOR DESIGNING SOCIAL INNOVATIONS IN THE ENERGY SECTOR

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 891-900
Author(s):  
Iban Lizarralde ◽  
Audrey Abi Akle ◽  
Mikhail Hamwi ◽  
Basma Samir
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Energy Transition ◽  
Clean Energy ◽  
Energy Sector ◽  
Social Innovations ◽  
Main Factors ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Energy Community ◽  
New Criteria

AbstractCurrent development of renewable energy systems (RES) is characterised by an increasing participation of citizens in the upstream decision-making process. These citizens can be future users of the RES but also members of a Renewable Energy Community that develop RES. They can be at the same time Renewable Energy producer, investor and consumer. Moreover, several type of businesses and terms are used to cope with social innovations within the energy sector: local renewable projects, sustainable energy communities or community of renewable energy production. So, actors' engagement opens new solutions for designers who are induced to share alternatives before making decisions. They usually impose constraints since the early phases of the design process. This approach implies for designers to consider new criteria related to citizens motivations and barriers. This paper presents a study to define the main factors that drive people to contribute in social innovation schemes for clean-energy transition. After a state of the art, a survey about 6 main factors and 18 criteria is presented. The analysis based on the responses from 34 participants (i.e. experts) reveals 2 most important factors of motivation and 2 principal barrier sources.

Territorial Governance of EU Cross-Border Renewable Energy Cooperation: A Soluble or Turbulent Model in the Current Framework?

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-97
Author(s):  
Melis Aras
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Energy Transition ◽  
Clean Energy ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Development Planning ◽  
Cross Border

The energy transition in Europe requires not only the implementation of technological innovations to reduce carbon emissions but also the decentralised extension of these innovations throughout the continent, as demonstrated by the ‘Clean Energy for All Europeans’ package. However, decentralised energy generation, and specifically electricity generation, as it gives rise to new players and interactions, also requires a review of the energy planning process. In this sense, governance becomes the key concept for understanding the implementation of the energy transition in a territory. This is particularly visible in a cross-border setting, especially considering cross-border cooperation in the development of renewable energy sources (RES) provides the necessary elements to determine the criteria of local regulation between the different levels of governance. In light of the current legal framework in France, this paper presents the institutional framework of the multi-level governance of the RES development planning process. It concludes that it is quite conceivable for the rationales of governance at the local level (decentralisation) and the large-scale operation of a large interconnected network (Europeanisation) to coexist.

scholarly journals The Impact of Financial Development On The Clean Energy Transition In MENA Region: The Role of Institutional And Political Factors.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haifa Saadaoui
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Financial Development ◽  
Energy Transition ◽  
Transition Process ◽  
Clean Energy ◽  
Mena Region ◽  
Political Factors ◽  
Long Run ◽  
The Impact

Abstract This study focuses on the role of institutional factors as well as financial development in renewable energy transition in Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region over the period 1990-2018 using the ARDL PMG method. The investigation of long-run and short-run analysis confirms that institutional and political factors play a key role in promoting the transition to renewable energy, and shows that improving these factors can lead to decarbonization of the energy sector in the long run. Another important finding is that global financial development does not have a significant effect on the transition process in the long run, implying that the whole financial system needs a fundamental structural change to accelerate the substitution between polluting and clean energies. However, in the short term, the impact appears to be negative and significant, highlighting the inadequacy of financial institutions and financial markets in promoting the region’s sustainable path. Moreover, income drives the transition to renewable energy in both short and long term. The causality results show that both financial development and institutional quality lead to renewable energy transition, while there is a bidirectional link between income and renewable energy.This study can provide a very useful recommendation to promote a clean transition in the MENA region.

Crafting the International Economic Order: The Public Function of Investment Treaty Arbitration and Its Significance for the Role of the Arbitrator

2010 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 401-430 ◽  
Author(s):  
STEPHAN W. SCHILL
Keyword(s):  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
International Economic Order ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Dispute Settlement Mechanism ◽  
Commercial Arbitration ◽  
Party Autonomy ◽  
The Public ◽  
Investment Protection ◽  
Investment Treaty ◽  
Investment Treaty Arbitration

AbstractInvestment treaty arbitration, unlike commercial arbitration, is not a purely private dispute settlement mechanism that is entirely subject to party autonomy and limited in its effects to the parties to the proceedings. Rather, it fulfils a public function in influencing the behaviour of foreign investors, states, and civil society more generally by crafting and concretizing international standards of investment protection. Investment treaty arbitration thus implements and operates as part of a public system of investment protection. Arbitrators, as a result, incur obligations not only towards the parties to the proceedings, but vis-à-vis the whole system of investment protection. These obligations can be conceptualized as part of the public law implications of investment treaty arbitration and affect, inter alia, the role and status of arbitrators in investment treaty disputes, the procedural maxims that such arbitrations should follow, and the way arbitral awards should be crafted.

Part IV Guide to Key Substantive Issues, 23 The MFN Clause and Its Evolving Boundaries

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Smutny Abby Cohen ◽  
Polášek Petr ◽  
Farrell Chad
Keyword(s):  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
Primary Concern ◽  
Dispute Settlement Mechanism ◽  
Investment Treaty ◽  
Trade Practice ◽  
Defined Benefits ◽  
The Right ◽  
Procedural Rights ◽  
Trade And Investment ◽  
Settlement Mechanism

This chapter discusses most-favoured-nation (MFN) clauses from early references in trade agreements to contemporary references in investor-state arbitrations. MFN clauses originated in early international trade practice and have continued to be incorporated in modern trade and investment treaties, both bilateral and multilateral. Their intended purpose is to lessen discrimination and encourage the growth of trade and foreign investment by ensuring that certain defined benefits accorded to one set of States (or their nationals, investments, goods, etc.) are extended to other States (or their nationals, investments, goods, etc.). In the investment treaty context, some commentators have observed that the right to a favourable dispute settlement mechanism is the primary concern of foreign investors, and investors often invoke MFN clauses to secure procedural rights that might otherwise be unavailable to them.

icsid’s Neoliberal Approach to Environmental Regulation in Developing Countries

2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (4-5) ◽  
pp. 401-442
Author(s):  
Antonius R. Hippolyte
Keyword(s):  
Latin American ◽  
Foreign Investment ◽  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
Dispute Settlement Mechanism ◽  
Investment Treaty ◽  
American States ◽  
Physical Environments ◽  
Hazardous Waste Landfills ◽  
Settlement Mechanism ◽  
Investment Treaty Arbitration

Abstract With the intensification of their participation in the foreign investment regime, Latin American States are finding it difficult to implement measures beneficial to protecting their environments due to their obligations to third States. This governance deficit is further compounded by the regime’s neoliberal predisposition in favour of property protection, which has penetrated the system and implicated the system of investment treaty arbitration, the regime’s primary dispute settlement mechanism. The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (icsid) has also been implicated. This is seen in the momentous diversity in investor-State disputes resolved by various icsid tribunals, which concern attempts by Latin American States to protect their physical environments such as the protection of wildlife or other matters such as the regulation of hazardous waste landfills and ensuring that citizens have access to clean water. Tribunals have approached such disputes primarily from a commercial standpoint, ignoring non-market alternatives such as environmental considerations.

scholarly journals Can the 1.5 ℃ warming target be met in a global transition to 100% renewable energy?

AIMS Energy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 1170-1191
Author(s):  
Peter Schwartzman ◽  
◽  
David Schwartzman ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Dioxide ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Emissions ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Energy Transition ◽  
Climate Mitigation ◽  
Energy Poverty ◽  
Global Energy ◽  
Mitigation And Adaptation

<abstract> <p>First, we recognize the valuable previous studies which model renewable energy growth with complete termination of fossil fuels along with assumptions of the remaining carbon budgets to reach IPCC warming targets. However, these studies use very complex combined economic/physical modeling and commonly lack transparency regarding the sensitivity to assumed inputs. Moreover, it is not clear that energy poverty with its big present impact in the global South has been eliminated in their scenarios. Further, their CO<sub>2</sub>-equivalent natural gas emission factors are underestimated, which will have significant impact on the computed greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, we address this question in a transparent modeling study: can the 1.5 ℃ warming target still be met with an aggressive phaseout of fossil fuels coupled with a 100% replacement by renewable energy? We compute the continuous generation of global wind/solar energy power along with the cumulative carbon dioxide equivalent emissions in a complete phaseout of fossil fuels over a 20 year period. We compare these computed emissions with the state-of-the-science estimates for the remaining carbon budget of carbon dioxide emissions consistent with the 1.5 ℃ warming target, concluding that it is still possible to meet this warming target if the creation of a global 100% renewable energy transition of sufficient capacity begins very soon which will likely be needed to power aggressive negative carbon emission technology. The latter is focused on direct air capture for crustal storage. More efficient renewable technologies in the near future will make this transition easier and promote the implementation of a global circular economy. Taking into account technological improvements in 2<sup>nd</sup> law (exergy) efficiencies reducing the necessary global energy demand, the renewable supply should likely be no more than 1.5 times the present level, with the capacity to eliminate global energy poverty, for climate mitigation and adaptation.</p> </abstract>

scholarly journals The EU Emissions Trading System and Renewable Energy Policies: Friends or Foes in the European Policy Mix?

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 105-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie Byskov Lindberg
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Emissions Trading ◽  
Energy Transition ◽  
Clean Energy ◽  
Electricity Sector ◽  
Policy Position ◽  
Policy Mix ◽  
Trading System ◽  
Industry Group ◽  
Emissions Trading System

The EU’s energy transition has advanced rapidly over the last decade, with important implications for the policy landscape. Scholars have characterized the Emissions Trading System (ETS) and the Renewable Energy Directive as the most important policies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the electricity sector. However, since the early 2010s, non-governmental and industrial actors have debated whether renewable energy (RE) support and targets are compatible with the ETS. This article systematically assesses the policy preferences of five groups of non-governmental actors with respect to the role of the ETS versus RE policies in three policy processes. For most groups, preferences remain stable across the policy processes. In the electricity industry group, preferences vary from one policy process to another. During the ETS-reform, this group of actors argues that the ETS should be the main climate policy, whereas, in the Clean Energy Package-process, almost half of the utilities endorse continued RE support. This represents a shift in their line of reasoning and policy position: from asserting that RE policies ‘destroy’ the ETS, towards a position which recognizes the value of having both the ETS and RE policies as complementary instruments in the policy mix. The findings point to increasing support for RE policies, which is important for policy makers and scholars involved in designing and implementing the EU’s decarbonization policies.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document