Raphael J. Heffron

The concept of energy justice across the disciplines

Over the last decade, ‘Energy Justice’ is a concept that has emerged in research across many disciplines. This research explores the role and value of the energy justice concept across the disciplines. It provides the first critical account of the emergence of the energy justice concept in both research and practice. A diagrammatical image for examining the energy justice concepts is presented and this is a tool for interdisciplinary engagement with the concept. In this context, restorative justice is introduced and how it results in energy justice applying in practice is detailed. Energy research scholarship at universities is assessed and it is clear that through universities there is a platform for energy justice scholarship to build on the interdisciplinary energy scholarship at universities. Further, the role of education is vital to policy-making, and the understanding and development of the energy justice concept. Finally, in analysing how the energy justice concept can impact on policy-making, there is a critical examination of the energy justice and its relationship with economics, and how it can transfer directly into practice by assisting in balancing the competing aims of the energy trilemma.

The Political Economy of Energy Justice: A Nuclear Energy Perspective

Energy justice has recently emerged as a new crosscutting social science research agenda. In this chapter, its core tenets are explored: distributional justice, procedural justice, and justice as recognition. Using a case study approach of nuclear waste in Canada, nuclear reactors in the UK, and uranium mines in Australia, the manifestations of energy justice in practice are illustrated from a political economy perspective through analysing the nuclear energy sector. This focus allows us to identify both winners and losers with regard to energy justice throughout the nuclear energy system. Through promoting the application of this triple-pronged approach across the energy system and within the global context of energy production and consumption, recommendations for its operationalisation are advanced. Of significance, the political economy focus highlights the key areas for conflicts and trade-offs amongst the core tenets of energy justice as the concept makes policy ground.

Legal strategies for the mitigation of risk for energy infrastructure projects

The world continues to recover from the global financial crisis of 2007–2009 and consequently project risk continues to be a key concern for lawyers. This is in particular evident in the energy sector where there is a significant need to finance energy projects. This paper focuses on electricity-generating infrastructure where estimates indicate that a minimum of

Ownership, risk and the law for a CO2 transport network for carbon capture and storage in the European Union

10tn in investment is needed by 2040. As lawyers need to play a role in reducing the risk for these projects, this article examines legal strategies for the mitigation of risk for energy infrastructure projects with a focus on electricity projects. The paper assesses risk for project finance in terms of liberalised and non-liberalised electricity markets, and also from a developed and developing world perspective. Further, the paper notes that energy law theory states that the need for energy infrastructure is a key driver of energy law and policy development in the world at the moment. And finally, it is acknowledged that, while project finance has been a research issue for economists for many years, it is time for lawyers to evaluate how they also can mitigate risk for project finance for energy infrastructure projects.

What Is Energy Law

The transboundary transportation of carbon dioxide (CO2) gives rise to international legal issues not faced in other standalone carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects or domestic projects. While the European Union CCS Directive establishes a framework for CCS, it does not address specifically the issue of transboundary transportation. This will require participating Member States to agree a statutory framework for CO2 transport, which addresses issues at the international, national and local levels of law. This paper considers several key issues for developing and resolving legal issues around ownership and risk for CO2 transportation, an area with limited research literature to date. The legal challenges are examined using a ‘pilot’ project to explore and highlight specific examples. The research draws from a series of CCS industry stakeholder meetings and analysis was developed through interdisciplinary perspectives. In addition, the potential partnership arrangements are explored from a law and policy perspective with an examination of the key issues for these partnerships for Member States. Finally, this research presents a timeline for a legal strategy on resolving the issues for risk and ownership for CO2 transport.

Issues in Energy Law

This chapter introduces the reader to the subject of energy law. It covers in brief its history in practice and its continued development as an academic discipline. It introduces the reader to the basic elements of energy law. This includes a discussion of the concept of the energy law and policy triangle which gives rise to the energy trilemma. There is also coverage of key international energy law and policy organisations which are responsible for international treaties and also the publication of policy papers which contribute to the formulation of international energy policy. Then there is a short summary of the key influences on energy law and policy and the key drivers of change in energy law.

The Different Levels of Energy Law

This chapter covers three major issues in energy law. First it explains the key energy policy concepts that energy law interacts with. There are many energy policy concepts with competition, energy security and energy waste management being particularly connected with legal development. There is also a discussion on the convergence of energy and environmental law. Second and third this chapter introduces the reader to the legal issues for fossil fuel energy sources and low-carbon energy sources respectively. There is a brief overview of international, national and local issues for different energy sources and also a comparison of environmental, planning, finance and safety issues for each energy source.

Energy Law Research and Conclusions

There are different levels of energy law and this chapter details the three levels: international, national and local. The reader is introduced to the key international treaties and organisations which set energy law and policy. The chapter then explains national and local energy law with examples from a number of different countries. National and local energy law can vary and this chapter does not follow the development of one particular country. Readers are informed of the key legal issues at national and local level and should be able to develop these for a country of their choice.

Scotland, Nuclear Energy Policy and Independance

A key research method in energy law is that of comparative legal analysis. This chapter gives the initial example of a comparison between the EU and US which is followed by an introduction to the energy law for several other countries: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China and India. The second major section of the chapter covers case law in the energy sector with a focus on that of the EU. The chapter concludes with a section on the future of energy law, which looks at the progress and power of energy law, targeted energy legislation and a brief overview of the future outlook for energy law.

Energy justice: A conceptual review

This chapter examines the role of nuclear energy on current Scottish energy policy, an underexplored area of value whether Scotland remains in the UK, secures independence or further devolution post Brexit. A recurrent theme in the analysis is that whether one is for, against, or indifferent to new nuclear energy development, it highlights a major gap in Scotland’s energy and environmental policy goals. Too often, the Scottish Government perspective has been reduced to a low-carbon energy development debate between nuclear and renewables, with little reflection on how to reduce fossil fuel dependency. Aspirations to being a low-carbon economy, a global leader in climate change and to decarbonising its electricity market means Scotland needs to tackle the issue of how to stop burning fossil fuels.