International Legal Regulation of Cooperation of States in the Field of Renewable Energy

The current state of international legal regulation of relations of renewable energy is considered, the need to analyse the dynamics of the formation of rules of conduct of states, which are enshrined in various sources, including those enshrined in Art. 38 of the Charter of the International Court of Justice, as well as a significant array of rules, which international law has been called «soft law». It is shown that in the domestic doctrine of international law is quite a common to view that the main sources of so-called «soft law» are resolved of intergovernmental organizations of the UN system and its offices, especially the UN General Assembly, political acts of regional conferences, and organizations, others international acts adopted by states, intergovernmental organizations, which are not legal but moral and political in nature. The process of formation of the international regulatory framework in the field of renewable energy is analysed, which shows that the development of international policy and «soft law» in this area has gone through four conditional stages: the formation of general principles of cooperation; introduction of the concept of sustainable development in the international legal environment; recognition of energy as a component of sustainable development; launch of the UN Sustainable Energy for All initiative. It is noted that despite all efforts, the share of new and renewable energy sources in the global energy balance remains extremely low. Referring to this fact, the General Assembly calls for measures to be taken to ensure the cost-effective use of such types of energy. It is noted that in the array of norms of international law, which directly or indirectly relate to the field of renewable energy, the vast majority is a set of rules of «soft law». It is shown that the world powers seek to cooperate through the work of specialized international organizations that are designed to introduce the production of renewable energy sources. The focus is on the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the establishment of which is, of course, a necessary way to implement renewable energy. Because the recommendatory nature of these international organizations does not contribute to the positive purpose of such cooperation. In order to unify the international legal regulation of renewable energy, it is necessary to develop a common international legal framework in this area with mandatory compliance with the legal norms of all participants.