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According to the greenhouse gas (GHG) protocol for cities, GHGs are responsible for an estimated 75 per cent of global energy-related carbon dioxide emissions. This represents a key opportunity to tackle climate change. With the year 2023 and, in particular, the month of July delivering record-breaking temperatures, this demonstrates a clear need to accelerate decarbonisation and, in this context, to reduce the carbon footprint of cities. Further, acting on urban development addresses a number of key United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs). Many cities, however, are struggling to break away from a reliance on carbon and some are economically dependent on it. This paper seeks to investigate, through an energy justice lens, some first considerations of how to secure just and sustainable urban regeneration. It posits that energy justice, and its five core principles, is a useful analytical tool for considering the justice and development concerns related to the transition to a low-carbon world. The cities examined in brief in this comparative study are Bordeaux in France, Venice in Italy, Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam and Bangkok in Thailand. The research posits that despite different trajectories, cities can play a leading role in ensuring justice and sustainability in our low-carbon world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green hydrogen provides one solution for a just transition to a low-carbon economy in the Global South. Absorption of green hydrogen into the energy mix will assist in decarbonising the hard-to-abate sectors, and it may even contribute to the economies of these countries when they transport to the Global North which has excess demand for it. However, this new pivot may also introduce new energy injustices, and this is what this paper focuses on. Through a comparative law analysis of three countries each from the Asia-Pacific (China, Vietnam and Thailand), South America (Brazil, Chile and Colombia) and Africa (South Africa, Kenya and Namibia), and by looking through the lens of procedural justice, this paper marks the first comprehensive examination of this concept for green hydrogen. It analyses the trajectory of these countries in terms of their introduction of green hydrogen into their renewable energy mix. Then there is an assessment of their successes and failures, the identification of gaps in policy, and the role of procedural justice in moving the green hydrogen legal frameworks forward is also examined. Finally, policy solutions to future-proof green hydrogen legal frameworks for the attention of policymakers are advanced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been over a decade since the article that kickstarted energy justice research was published in 2012. It focused on the 'triumvirate of tenets' of justice, which were distributive, procedural and recognition justice. Today in 2023, and with significant developments of the 2015 Paris Agreement and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, there needs to be a revision. Over time, the three tenets have become five as scholars began to advance thinking on energy justice into policymaking. Energy justice now is creating an impact, and policymakers and governments are beginning to recognise its value for meeting energy and climate targets. Energy justice can be a vehicle for investment and also for improving the socio-economic performance of an economy. Adopting the now five principles (tenets) of energy justice reduces the inherent risks in the energy sector and more broadly in society. The now five principles (moving beyond tenets) of energy justice are: distributive, procedural, restorative, recognition and cosmopolitan justice. These have been integrated into significant law and policy documents in the United States and Colombia, in 2022 and 2023. It is just a matter of time before many other countries begin to utilise them to achieve transformative change in their societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental principles with their various forms, natures and different legal roles across jurisdictions are gaining increasing attention in energy and climate scholarship. The trend in the literature has been to discuss these principles in the context of developed countries, considering, for example, the impact of and significant literature on the polluter-pays principle. This article offers an original review with a contribution in discussing the new Middle Eastern energy and climate ambitions of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). These goals are contained within the promising policy document known as Vision 2030, and this review explores these energy and climate ambitions in the legal context of environmental principles. The study reviews the literature on the environmental principles in the Middle Eastern context of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and utilizes doctrinal and socio-legal methods (including expert interviews) to explore the practice of Vision 2030. This article advocates that, with the advent of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Vision 2030, the application of these principles can fill an existing lacuna in legal scholarship and advance governance in the areas of energy and climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to achieve a just transition to a low-carbon economy, there is a need for large-scale and far-reaching organizational reform. In particular, this needs to happen with multi-national and state-owned energy companies. These firms play a key role in societies worldwide today, however, they are ignoring or neglecting their role in the energy transition and the wider movement towards achieving a low-carbon economy in a 'just' way. These companies are transitioning far too slowly and the rhetoric they advance is now outdated given the current market and societal dynamics. Early indications are that Governments and the public remain willing to assist in financing the transitioning of these companies. However, this support will have a time limit. This short brief focuses on the need for these companies to 'repurpose' themselves, to obtain requisite data for their decision-making and begin future-proofing their strategies which includes themselves individually also. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The energy sector is increasingly out of date and in need of a new direction. There continues to be a myriad of issues emanating from the sector, most notably with climate change, environmental impacts and economic governance. Climate change continues at pace and with the United Nations having already declared there to be a climate emergency. Yet the response of energy sector stakeholders with the power to make the necessary changes in society remains slow. Too much investment continues in the old traditional energy sources. This research accepts these positions and that therefore the relationship between the stakeholders of the energy sector is imbalanced. In order to change this relationship so that it is fair, equitable and inclusive it is necessary to place (energy) justice at the core of a new social contract between the stakeholders of the energy sector (which includes policymakers, private and public energy companies, and citizens). This research advances 10 key pathways for scholarship on energy justice and the social contract. These topics need to be addressed from local to national and international levels. In resolving these research problems society can address the fundamental imbalances that exist between energy stakeholders and ensure a just and brave new world established through this new energy-just social contract. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An international debate is needed on what energy law is required for society to achieve its energy and climate targets for 2030 and 2050. This editorial and the special issue that follows focus on Energy Law for the Next Generation, Towards 2030 to 2050. Legal scholarship to date has not evolved sufficiently to play its role in the energy transition and in ensuring the effects of climate change are mitigated. There remain too many gaps in the law, in particular around decommissioning of fossil fuel energy infrastructure and management of waste from fossil fuel activities, ie carbon taxes. The overall key challenges for energy law are to address climate change, environmental impacts and economic governance. New visions of what energy law must be reformed or newly formulated are needed. Currently, in education, in practice and in research, the status quo remains. The research perspectives in the articles for this special issue will hopefully inspire the next generation of energy law scholars to provide solutions. It is, after all, a key 'justice' issue to ensure that as an energy law community, we leave a foundation in place that can lead to a just transition to a low-carbon and sustainable world for future generations within the science-based critical deadlines such as 2030 and 2050. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between the energy sector and society is one that remains mired in controversy. There are multiple problems such as climate change, environmental impacts, economic and governance issues. With these problems continuing to exist, the energy sector has lacked any fully successful solutions. This conceptual paper calls for implementing the key theoretical perspective of energy justice as a solution. If energy justice is implemented through a new social contract with society, then transformative change could happen. This new societal social contract is a vital development needed throughout the world where there is already a climate emergency, as declared by the United Nations. A social contract between different stakeholders in society has always been an issue in society. It was a brought to the fore in France through the work of philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau in the 18th century. One of Rousseau's major theories was that a civil society should ensure its citizens' rights and well-being. The energy sector is the key reason that this is not happening today. Therefore, such a new social contract could implement energy justice and achieve transformative societal change, protecting rights and ensuring well-being for all, and hence delivering a just transition to a low-carbon economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Energy research has been growing in a holistic way whereby researchers are connecting their research to the bigger picture of an 'energy system'. Energy law scholarship has lacked this direction and traditionally has focused too narrowly on specific topics such as electricity markets or extraction. A major limitation has permeated through scholarship in the area and relatively no connection is made to the energy system. Energy law scholarship did not for example, state where the energy system can improve and deliver a just outcome. The lack of identifying such a connection has permitted energy law scholars to fall under the radar and continue to work on issues that in essence support the continued development of traditional energy sources, ie, fossil fuels. Only a minority of researchers have shifted their focus in a real and impactful way to ensuring energy law delivers just outcomes for society. Energy justice scholarship has allowed scholars to do that. It has emerged as a major interdisciplinary energy research topic yet there remain remarkably few energy law scholars interacting with it. Many scholars remain reluctant to read beyond traditional research in energy law not to mention engage in interdisciplinary energy journals which increasingly publish legal scholarship. This article calls for the further development of the modern energy law scholar. For such scholars to exist, there needs to be a revolution in energy law scholarship to ensure law contributes to the ongoing global climate emergency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is an important environmental protection tool introduced into the environmental governance framework to evaluate and inform the administrative decision-making processes regarding whether certain developments or projects are to be allowed. In this article, EIA's legal status and procedure are examined in relation to a Middle Eastern context, specifically to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Two different types of analysis are employed. The first is doctrinal analysis, focusing on the legal and statutory provisions regulating and organising this environmental protection tool—this genre of analysis entails identifying and unpacking the laws and regulations that govern this tool. The second type is qualitative analysis involving original data from 27 semi-structured interviews—one of the first of its kind on this topic in the KSA. The key contribution of the article comprises the examination and synthesis of the current status of different theories in the current international literature with regard to the underexplored issue of EIAs in the KSA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a key role for taxation in energy and public policy following the 2020 COVID-19 and resulting financial crisis. Taxation was already under the microscope at national, regional and international levels prior to 2020, and the potential for reform may slow down. Developing countries in particular are utilising their tax systems to mitigate the impacts of the 2020 crisis. This article highlights the race to the bottom in terms of taxation as governments seek foreign direct investment (FDI). It also highlights the issues in an influential sector of the economy – that of energy – and the impact on human rights as a result of tax abuse. It is advanced here that a 'race to the bottom' in international taxation will result in further erosion of human rights. In thinking of the future and after the 2020 crisis, developing countries need to develop sustainable and resilient economic growth, and consequently they need clear and strategic taxation policy. It can be acknowledged that there is a role for FDI in a crisis-hit economy, but for taxation policy not to have negative consequences more international action is needed in this area. Aggressive tax planning and erosion of the potential to raise tax revenue cannot inhibit the progress made over the last decade on all areas of international taxation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]