Law Commons^™

Using Federal Public Lands To Model A New Energy Future: Why The Biden Administration Should Prioritize Renewable Energy Development On Public Lands, Meghen Sullivan

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

Oil and gas extraction on public lands and waters is responsible for twenty percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. If American public lands were their own country, they would be the fifth-largest greenhouse gas emitter in the world. As of 2020, only twenty percent of total U.S. electricity generation came from renewable energy sources. While renewable energy development on public lands has increased, most renewable energy comes from private lands. However, public lands contain immense renewable energy potential; for example, it is estimated that half of this country’s geothermal resources are found on public lands. Despite underutilized renewable energy potential …

Pedal Into The Future, Elliot Wiley

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

Congress severely weakened the Electric Bicycle Incentive Kickstart for the Environment Act (E-Bike Act) when the bill was absorbed into the Build Back Better Bill. Electricity is the future, yet Congress has defanged a bill that could create significant progress in making bicycling a more accessible option for commuters.

Most Favoured Nation Clause: Unleashing Its Legal Potential In Favour Of Foreign Investors In Renewable Energy Sector, Mohammad Akefi Ghaziani, Vahid Akefi Ghaziani, Moosa Akefi Ghaziani Dr.

Indonesia Law Review

International Investment Law and other international legal systems, such as trade law and environmental law have interactions and dynamic interrelationships in meeting global challenges including energy security, climate change, and the need for the renewable energy transition. They help in delivering the principles of justice in the context of changing global values and legal practices. Accordingly, they have a potential share in the global climate change mitigation agenda through innovative policies and regulations, inter alia, to facilitate and promote foreign investment and trade in the renewable energy sector. Similarly, these systems have common principles in their respective agreements. The Most-Favoured …

Fighting The Wrong Fight: Why The Mlp Parity Act Is A Misguided Attempt At Achieving Renewable Energy Capital Raising Parity, David Powers

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

The Wto Agreements And The Regulation Of Energy Markets: Is There A Good Fit?, Ravi Soopramanien

Pace Environmental Law Review

This paper focuses on this second wave of WTO RE disputes. It will assess whether or to what extent policy instruments requiring increased use of RE in national electricity grids, notably FiT, RPS and EA regulations, are consistent with WTO legal obligations. Part II of this paper will discuss energy markets, and the issues that are presented through incorporation of RE into national grids. Part III will shift focus to the WTO. It will introduce the WTO and relevant WTO law, with a particular emphasis on the Appellate Body’s conclusion in its Canada – RE/FiT report. Part IV will assess …

Subsidies Issues In Renewable Energy Trade, Heng Wang

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The chapter analyzes several issues regarding the renewable energy subsidies in trade law. There are uncertainties regarding the WTO-consistence of renewable energy subsidies for goods. It is partially due to the vagueness of WTO rules and insufficient jurisprudence. Among them, issues such as the specificity of subsidies turn to be quite controversial. Given the unclear WTO disciplines on the susidies for goods, renewable energy subsidies for services could be more popular. The “collaboration” between the WTO law and FTAs is desirable to reform the WTO rules on trade remedies and to strike a balance between trade disciplines and environment protection.

Extraterritoriality, Externalities, And Cross-Border Trade: Some Lessons From The United States, The European Union, And The World Trade Organization, Max S. Jansson

Pace Environmental Law Review

In this article, process and production method (PPM) rules are analyzed under three jurisdictions: the United States, the European Union (EU), and the World Trade Organization (WTO. The approach is justified by the fact that their rules on interstate trade reflect very similar basic objectives related to anti-protectionism. Moreover, the regimes, to a large extent, share the same structure of rules on prohibition balanced with rules on justification. All in all, the regimes reveal similar syntax. The comparability of the U.S. Dormant Commerce Clause Doctrine with both WTO law and EU free movement law has been highlighted already in previous …

“Gatting” The New Climate Treaty Right: Leveraging Energy Subsidies To Promote Multilateralism, Deepa Badrinarayana

Deepa Badrinarayana

A Turquoise Mess: Green Subsidies, Blue Industrial Policy And Renewable Energy: The Case For Redrafting The Subsidies Agreement Of The Wto, Aaron Cosbey, Petros C. Mavroidis

Faculty Scholarship

Canada-Renewable Energy presented the WTO Panel and Appellate Body (AB) with a novel issue: at the heart of the dispute was a measure adopted by the province of Ontario whereby producers of renewable energy would be paid a premium relative to conventional power producers. Some WTO Members complained that the measure was a prohibited subsidy because payments were conditional upon using Canadian equipment for the production of renewable energy. The AB gave them right only in part: it found that a local content requirement had indeed been imposed, but also found that it lacked evidence to determine whether a subsidy …

Energy And Environment Policy Case For A Global Project, Thomas A. Faunce

Thomas A Faunce

A policy case is made for a global project on artificial photosynthesis including its scientific justification, potential governance structure and funding mechanisms.

Introductory Remarks: International Energy Governance, Lakshman Guruswamy

Publications

No abstract provided.

Ch 21. 'Future Perspectives On Solar Fuels', Thomas A. Faunce

Thomas A Faunce

This chapter opens by examining whether the research and development of molecular solar fuels will be characterized in future by its promotion of fundamental societal virtues such as equality and environmental sustainability. As a thought experiment, it presents a vision of some important elements of such a future world—one where energy is primarily not only a matter of global artificial photosynthesis (GAP), but of such virtues. Central to the future perspective presented here is nanotechnological construction with enhanced efficiency of each aspect of the natural photosynthetic process into units capable of inexpensive mass production for domestic use. This involves a …

Governing Planetary Nanomedicine: Environmental Sustainability And A Unesco Universal Declaration On The Bioethics And Human Rights Of Natural And Artificial Photosynthesis (Global Solar Fuels And Foods)., Thomas A. Faunce

Thomas A Faunce

Environmental and public health-focused sciences are increasingly characterised as constituting an emerging discipline—planetary medicine. From a governance perspective, the ethical components of that discipline may usefully be viewed as bestowing upon our ailing natural environment the symbolic moral status of a patient. Such components emphasise, for example, the origins and content of professional and social virtues and related ethical principles needed to promote global governance systems and policies that reduce ecological stresses and pathologies derived from human overpopulation, selfishness and greed— such as pollution, loss of biodiversity, deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions, as well as provide necessary energy, water and …

Towards Global Artificial Photosynthesis (Global Solar Fuels): Energy, Nanochemistry And Governance, Thomas A. Faunce

Thomas A Faunce

Introduction to special open access edition of Australian Journal of Chemistry with papers from 'Towards Global Artificial Photosynthesis: Energy, Nanochemistry and Governance' conference Lord Howe Island 2011

Artificial Photosynthesis: Feeding And Fuelling The Future, Thomas A. Faunce

Thomas A Faunce

Large research teams in many nations are using nanotechnology to actively redesign photosynthetic components such as light capture antennae, artificial reaction centre proteins, organic polymers and inorganic catalysts. A major aim was to achieve low cost, localised, off-the electricity grid use of sunlight to split water and achieve hydrogen for fuel cells or compression and hyper-cooling to form a liquid fuel that when burnt produces fresh water. The first international conference dedicated to creating a Global Artificial Photosynthesis (GAP) project was held in Australia at Lord Howe Island on 14-18 August 2011. As well as having endorsement from the UNESCO …

Global Artificial Photosynthesis: A Scientific And Legal Introduction., Thomas A. Faunce

Thomas A Faunce

With the global human population set to exceed 10 billion by 2050, its collective energy consumption to rise from 400 to over 500 EJ/yr and with the natural environment under increasing pressure from these sources as well as from anthropogenic climate change, political solutions such as the creation of an efficient carbon price and trading scheme may arrive too late. In this context, the scientific community is exploring technological remedies. Central to these options is artificial photosynthesis – the creation, particularly through nanotechnology, of devices capable to doing what plants have done for millions of years – transforming sunlight, water …

Will International Trade Law Promote Or Inhibit Global Artificial Photosynthesis, Thomas A. Faunce

Thomas A Faunce

Artificial photosynthesis (AP) is an area of well-advanced research involving large international groups at the cutting edge of synthetic biology and nanotechnology. In simple terms it offers to produce a cheap source of hydrogen for fuel through using sunlight to split water, as well as making basic starches by a process involving absorption of carbon dioxide via the enzyme RuBisCO. As the proliferating numbers of university-based research teams working in this area begin to combine, there will be a natural escalation of the expected time for a global roll-out of AP domestic and international devices. Policy attention will then turns …