Energy Law & Policy eJournal最新文献

{"title":"WTO and Renewable Energy: Lessons from the Case Law","authors":"P. Farah, Elena Cima","doi":"10.54648/trad2015042","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.54648/trad2015042","url":null,"abstract":"This contribution illustrates some unresolved issues and tensions that characterize the way the WTO deals with renewable energy subsidies. Indeed, the indisputable urgency to address the negative impacts of climate change on the one hand, and the use of subsidies to boost and support a country’s renewable energy sector on the other, provide momentum to better define the legal framework offered by the World Trade Organization (WTO). It is fundamental to ascertain whether the current framework represents an adequate model to address renewable energy subsidies, or whether a more flexible interpretation of WTO Agreements toward sustainable development and the protection of the environment should be adopted instead. In view of that, this paper carefully investigates the evolution of the WTO subsidies disciplines, focusing in particular on the approach of the WTO towards renewable energy subsidies. This article is divided in three sections. The first one offers an overview of WTO disputes involving subsidies in the renewable energy sector, the second one focuses on the recent decisions in the Canada – Renewable Energy and Canada – Feed-in Tariff Program disputes and on some important issues they raise, while in the last one we draw our conclusions.  ","PeriodicalId":388507,"journal":{"name":"Energy Law & Policy eJournal","volume":"21 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"121201220","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Information Acquisition, Dynamic Pricing of Electricity, and Conservation Requests: Evidence from a Field Experiment","authors":"I. Matsukawa","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.2689507","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2689507","url":null,"abstract":"This article uses panel data on how frequently households use in-home displays (IHD) in a randomized field experiment to investigate how acquiring information from IHDs affects electricity usage of households facing either dynamic pricing of electricity or conservation requests. Providing IHDs, which enables households to see a graph of their half-hourly electricity consumption in real time, is a promising policy intervention that corrects for biases associated with inattention and limited information-processing capacity by promoting salience and learning. Contrary to the energy-conservation literature, I find that IHD usage consistently raised electricity consumption of households. This perverse impact of IHD usage on energy conservation increased through learning over time as the experiment proceeds. However, an interactive effect of IHD provision and dynamic pricing implies that providing an IHD together with pecuniary incentive schemes could be effective in energy conservation.","PeriodicalId":388507,"journal":{"name":"Energy Law & Policy eJournal","volume":"182 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-11-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132584221","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Diffusion of Sustainable Governance in Service Sector","authors":"S. Rajan","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.2147139","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2147139","url":null,"abstract":"In this paper, we talk about diffusion of sustainable governance in service sector. Service sector companies such as Walmart have made major announcements that show green heart in the American Corporate Jungle. Walmart has tried to reduce the petrol consumption, conserve energy in stores and use green technology in their stores. They also have committed to sell organic and green produce. Walmart will also save millions of dollars by adopting green practices and becoming one of the first retail companies to become a green company. Since the green policies can save money and satisfy our wants in green ways, the coming of green government and green multinationals is only welcome. E governance will reduce costs and increase the number of services but natural governance will increase the strength and quality of government. Green governments such as California can impose their green policy by dictate but companies out of self interest can become the green stars of the green economy.","PeriodicalId":388507,"journal":{"name":"Energy Law & Policy eJournal","volume":"587 ","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-09-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"120885298","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A Welfare Analysis of the Electricity Transmission Regulatory Regime in Germany","authors":"C. Kemfert, F. Kunz, Juan Rosellón","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.2639116","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2639116","url":null,"abstract":"We analyze the current regulatory regime for electricity transmission in Germany, which combines network planning with both cost-plus and revenue-cap regulations. After reviewing international experiences on transmission investment, we first make a qualitative assessment of the overall German regime. The German TSOs have in general incentives to overinvest and inefficiently inflate costs. We further develop two models to analyze the transmission planning process. In the first model there is no trade-off between transmission expansion and generation dispatch. This is a modeling set-up similar to the one actually used in the German transmission planning (Netzentwicklungsplan). A second model alternatively allows for such a trade-off, and thus represents an optimal way of transmission network planning. Simulations with the two models are carried out and compared so as to illustrate the amount of excessive transmission capacity investment and welfare losses associated with the current regime.","PeriodicalId":388507,"journal":{"name":"Energy Law & Policy eJournal","volume":"34 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"122908483","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Empire State Strikes Back: The Challenges Facing Mineral Owners & Producers Seeking to Profit in New York State","authors":"Brett M Podkanowicz","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.2702503","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2702503","url":null,"abstract":"An analysis of how the current depressed oil and gas markets will weigh heavily against the likelihood that lawsuits or challenges are marshaled against New York State. Governor Andrew Cuomo's blanket prohibition against any type of hydrofracturing (A/K/A \"fracking\") without sufficient and specific evidence has rankled those living downstate upon the Marcellus and Utica shales, who could be profiting from leasing and production. This paper discusses valuations of minerals that would come up in any potential takings litigation, though ultimately the author concludes that expiring leases and a diminution of the relevant commodity prices will both serve to kneecap litigation, given that significantly fewer companies will have standing to litigate given that their leases are no longer active, and that the subsequently reduced potential valuation of subsurface oil, gas and minerals that are no longer economic to produce without fracking would likely preclude owners to pursue costly litigation.","PeriodicalId":388507,"journal":{"name":"Energy Law & Policy eJournal","volume":"66 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"121694469","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"EPA's Clean Power Plan: Implementation Options","authors":"Melinda E. Taylor, Romany M. Webb","doi":"10.2139/SSRN.2622559","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/SSRN.2622559","url":null,"abstract":"On June 2, 2014, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed a plan to reduce carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from existing fossil fuel power plants based on its authority under section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. § 7411(d)). The proposal, known as the Clean Power Plan or 111(d) rule, will require each state to develop a plan for reducing the rate of CO₂ emissions from its electric power system. As currently proposed, the Clean Power Plan requires states to meet interim emissions reduction targets beginning in 2020, with final targets to be achieved by 2030.The Clean Power Plan envisages that electric power companies will reduce their emissions by, among other things, switching to lower carbon fuel sources and increasing investment in energy efficiency. Currently, coal supplies approximately 40 percent of the electricity delivered to the grid in the U.S. Reducing the carbon intensity of the electric power system will mean increased reliance on natural gas and alternative sources of power, such as nuclear, wind, and solar. To some extent, this transition is already underway, even in the absence of federal standards. The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates that, between 2004 and 2014, coal-fired electricity generation declined by nearly 20 percent. Over the same period, natural gas-fired generation increased by almost 58 percent and non-hydroelectric renewable generation by over 200 percent. The Clean Power Plan promises to accelerate this transition away from coal towards natural gas and renewables. Given this, the Clean Power Plan has been highly controversial. EPA received approximately two million public comments from states, industry leaders, environmental groups, and public citizens with a wide range of opinions on the best options to proceed with the Clean Power Plan. To help inform the on-going policy debate, from April to June 2015, the Kay Bailey Hutchison Center for Energy, Law, and Business at The University of Texas at Austin conducted a survey on key aspects of the Clean Power Plan. 66 valid survey responses were received. The survey respondents included power company executives, industry consultants, state environmental officials, state energy officials, utility regulator staff, and regional transmission organization staff from various locations. Responses were not collected from every state. Survey respondents were not asked whether they support or oppose the Clean Power Plan. Rather, the survey focused on issues relating to implementation of the Plan. The survey results are summarized in this report. Key findings of the survey include:(1) The overwhelming majority of survey respondents favored the development of state compliance plans rather than federally-developed plans. (2) There was broad support, among survey respondents, for mass-based trading programs. Support was found in both Democratic- and Republican-controlled states but was higher in the former than the latter.(3) Survey respondents w","PeriodicalId":388507,"journal":{"name":"Energy Law & Policy eJournal","volume":"18 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-06-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"121882462","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Comments on the OECD's 'Due Diligence Guidance for Meaningful Stakeholder Engagement in the Extractives Sector'","authors":"Lisa J. Laplante, Erika George","doi":"10.2139/SSRN.2618188","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/SSRN.2618188","url":null,"abstract":"Professor Lisa Laplante of New England Law | Boston’s Center for International Law and Policy (CILP) and Professor Erika George of the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law’s Center for Global Justice respectfully submitted this collaborative commentary in response to the OECD’s Draft Due Diligence Guidance for Meaningful Stakeholder Engagement in the Extractives Sector which build off of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises which offer comprehensive recommendations to promote responsible business conduct. The 2011 revisions to the OECD MNE Guidelines introduced an important new provision on stakeholder engagement. Pursuant to the provision, multinational enterprises should: “engage with relevant stakeholders in order to provide meaningful opportunities for their views to be taken into account in relation to planning and decision making for projects or other activities that may significantly impact local communities.” Beyond meaningful stakeholder engagement, the OECD MNE Guidelines provide that multinational enterprises should: “carry out risk-based due diligence…to identify, prevent and mitigate actual and potential adverse impacts…and account for how these impacts are addressed.”Because the nature of business in the extractive sector often requires a long term presence in a particular location and large capital and infrastructure investments meaningful stakeholder engagement is especially important for enterprises engaged in the business of resource extraction. Moreover, the extensive social, economic and environmental impacts often associated with particular business practices warrants serious consideration of the interests of multiple stakeholders. Understanding extractive sector enterprises to include enterprises conducting exploration, development, extraction, processing, transport, and/or storage of oil, gas and minerals, it is a critically important sector for the global economy. For that reason the OECD developed these recent Guidelines.","PeriodicalId":388507,"journal":{"name":"Energy Law & Policy eJournal","volume":"29 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-06-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133206022","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Assessment of Future Energy Demand: A Methodological Review","authors":"Anjali Nursimulu","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.2831916","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2831916","url":null,"abstract":"The paper describes the mainstream energy scenarios and modelling approaches to illustrate the state of the art, and to stimulate thinking as to how these approaches can be used and improved for better assessment of energy demand. It suggests that there is a need for more sophisticated energy demand models and/or better scenarios, in particular using insights from Behavioural Sciences. The paper draws attention to the ways scenarios are being developed and used (and abused), and describes in broad brushstrokes different approaches for improving the usefulness of models and scenarios, and for making robust decisions in face of deep uncertainties regarding scenarios and modelling outcomes.","PeriodicalId":388507,"journal":{"name":"Energy Law & Policy eJournal","volume":"78 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133738533","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Water Management Policy in Brazil","authors":"D. Victor, P. S. Almeida, L. Wong","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.2670847","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2670847","url":null,"abstract":"For the growing body of academic and policy research on the energy-water nexus, the case of Brazil is particularly important and interesting. Brazil has a large biofuel crop industry that makes use of extensive water resources. The country’s large oil industry uses and disposes of large quantities of water, and hydropower is the nation’s largest single source of electric power. Each of these elements of the energy system implicates different aspects of Brazil’s policy and regulatory systems for managing water resources.This essay, which reviews the experience managing the intersection of Brazil’s energy and water issues, makes five arguments. First, as a federal system one of the most important policy issues in Brazil is the allocation of authority between the federal government and the many varied state regulatory systems that affect water. There is huge variation in state-level regulation; the most sophisticated of these systems is that of Sao Paulo — the state where we focus in this case study. Second, in terms of sheer volume of water consumed, Brazil’s sugar crops have a huge impact on the country’s water-energy nexus. However, as a practical matter, most of the sugar crop is not much affected by water policy because it is rain fed — as in most countries, water uses that affect rainfall are not much regulated whereas irrigated water is under much stricter control. Third, much of Brazil’s river system crosses state boundaries, raising potential concerns about lack of policy coordination. A system of river basin committees is designed to ameliorate those concerns — however, for the most part, those committees have little practical impact on policy. Nationally, there is huge variation in the actual implementation of water laws; only three regions in the most economically developed areas of the country have implemented essentially all of the nation’s administrative framework for managing water.Fourth, we note that in theory different water-using sectors could allow for fungibility in water usage and pollution control costs across the sectors. In practice, however, a wide array of organizational and legal rigidities makes that impractical. The oil and gas sector, for example, is managed using policy and regulatory frameworks that are completely separate from other water using sectors. Fifth, and finally, we note that use of water flow for generating electricity is of paramount importance in Brazil due to the country’s dependence on hydroelectricity. For years it has been known that this use of water is under-priced and under-regulated — mainly because of the close relationship between the hydroelectric sector and its regulatory bodies. There have been very limited use of market forces to encourage more efficient water behavior. In addition to some limited efforts to use water pricing, there are also auspicious experiments under way to use ecosystem services to put a proper value on watersheds. Other ideas, including smarter pricing of water flow,","PeriodicalId":388507,"journal":{"name":"Energy Law & Policy eJournal","volume":"44 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127886277","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Transboundary Hydropower Projects Seen Through The Lens of Three International Legal Regimes – Foreign Investment, Environmental Protection and Human Rights","authors":"A. Rieu-Clarke","doi":"10.7564/13-IJWG36","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7564/13-IJWG36","url":null,"abstract":"Recent years have witnessed a growing interest in hydropower. Many countries now see hydropower as a ‘cheap and clean’ alternative to fossil fuels, and therefore an important strategy in addressing climate change. However, much of the world’s hydropower potential is situated in transboundary rivers where existing cooperative arrangements are weak. These river basins are heavily reliant on ‘out of basin’ principles for water sharing. A set of substantive and procedural laws has evolved under customary international law to determine the rights and obligations of States sharing these transboundary rivers. Two further ‘out of basin’ legal regimes are also likely to have an important bearing on transboundary hydropower projects, namely laws concerning foreign investments, and laws protecting the interests of local communities. To date, there has been limited analysis of the linkages between these different regimes, and no study that has considered their relationship within the context of transboundary hydropower. This paper demonstrates that there are critical intersections to be made. These intersections provide important opportunities to explore how these three legal regimes can be implemented in a mutually reinforcing manner.","PeriodicalId":388507,"journal":{"name":"Energy Law & Policy eJournal","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-01-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132925620","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}