The country case studies of Great Britain (GB) and Brazil have shown that two main discursive frames can be found in relation to the interplay between energy security and national law and policies on green energy development: (i) the positive frame, which points out the importance of developing green energy to ensure energy security, i.e. green energy security; and (ii) the negative frame, where green energy is seen as negatively affecting energy security, particularly as a result of its intermittent nature, costs and insufficiency to meet the energy demands of a growing economy.Revealing these differences of approaches in relation to the interplay between energy security and green energy in the country case studies is relevant because this divergence of views, learnt in each country case study, may be at stake in legal disputes. In particular, legal disputes between countries concerning energy security and green energy development have already taken place within international trade law as encapsulated in the law of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), an international trade organisation which adjudicates between competing discursive claims and pronounces on their legal status.The WTO, therefore, was selected as a third case study because it shows how this diversity of views raised in national contexts can lead to legal disputes in international forums when attempts are made to address the issue of the interplay between energy security and green energy development. Literature on international green energy trade disputes in the WTO, however, have predominantly focused on the consistency of green energy policies with WTO law and the balance between WTO obligations and domestic public policy space as a way to address environmental and climate change objectives (Rubini ). Although a few studies have mentioned the significance of green energy to energy security as a facet of public policy within the WTO (Leal-Arcas et al. 103 104 4 The Applicability of the Law of the WTO to Green Energy Security
Green Energy Trade and the Law of the WTO: An OverviewThis section introduces some of the key rules of WTO law as well as examines how green energy has been addressed in the law of the WTO.
Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is a new technology considered to have the potential to decarbonise economies. However, nationally and internationally the use of CCS has also been raising concerns about its potential global risks and adverse impacts on the environment. CCS was part of the discussions at the 4th United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) in March 2019 and in side-events in the 26th UN Climate Change Conference which took place in Glasgow in November 2021. The UK Government aims to deploy CCS at scale during the 2030s, subject to cost reduction. At the same time the UK Government has recently enacted the Environment Act 2021 which provides a set of five environmental principles: the integration principle, the principle of preventative action, the precautionary principle, the rectification at source principle and the polluter pays principle. This work seeks to analyse the application of the UK environmental law principles to carbon capture and storage policies in the UK and its balance with other considerations. Given the concerns surrounding the use of CCS, the debate about its legality may arise in the UK and in other countries. To this end, this paper initially carries out a systematic review of CCS policy documents to discover the policy considerations which support the development of CCS. It then examines the application of the UK environmental law principles to CCS initiatives and its balance with other considerations, such as reduction of carbon emissions, security of energy supply, economic growth and technological leadership. In doing so, this paper aims at contributing to the debate surrounding recent technological developments which have been utilised to help address climate change and some of the legal challenges emerging through the use of CCS under UK environmental law.
Although the fusion energy sector is at a nascent state, the private fusion energy market has grown. There are currently 38 private fusion energy companies around the world aiming to commercialise fusion energy in early 2030s and 2040s. Given the capability of fusion energy of transforming today’s energy paradigm and the global character of the market, it is important to analyse how these companies are interacting with international human rights standards. Therefore, this work investigates the involvement of the private fusion energy sector with two voluntary international initiatives in particular: the UN Global Compact and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGP). This study attempts to answer two research questions: (i) Are private fusion energy companies participating in the UN Global Compact? (ii) How are private fusion energy companies publicly implementing the UNGP? Content analysis of secondary data collected from the UN Global Compact, Fusion Industry Association, ITER and companies’ official website as well as published reports is adopted. In summary, this work finds that private fusion energy companies are neither participants nor signatories of the UN Global Compact. The observance of the UNGP is also very poor. This study contributes to the field by highlighting this gap which the private fusion energy companies need to consider and take measures in order to create a salutary human rights sector.
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