Sustainable Energy Law Notebook

40 år siden fant Norge olje! 40 ans depuis la découverte du pétrole en Norvège! Hereafter follows a list of articles remembering the event: Website dedicated to the historic day (by The Norwegian Oil Industry Association, OLF): www.oljenorge40aar.no I år er det 40 år siden Norge ble oljenasjon , OLF . Ekofisk Industrial Heritage website: Kulturminne Ekofisk . Lille julaften 1969 forandret livene våre , DagensNærningsliv . Olje-Norge 40 År , Statoil .

Here is the text of the Copenhagen Accord , the potical agreement countries agreed upon and of which the Conference of the Parties "took note". Some official comments all agreeing on the fact that the Copenhagen Accord represents a first step : UNFCCC Press Release , 19.12.2009. " We now have a package to work with and begin immediate action. However, we need to be clear that it is a letter of intent and is not precise about what needs to be done in legal terms. So the challenge is now to turn what we have agreed politically in Copenhagen into soemthing real, measurable and verifiable " said UNFCCC Executive Secretary Yvo de Boer. European Commission and Swedish Presidency of the EU , Cautious Step forward in Copenhagen (text as of 19 December) and press conference video . " Let us speak plainly, I would have liked more. This will not solve the threat of climate change, but it is a first step, an important step " Swedish Prime Minister Reinfeldt. An...

This is the question currently at stake before a Dutch civil tribunal in The Hague. The case relates to a leak from an oil pipeline that occurred in 2005 in Nigeria . It is brought jointly by Friends of the Earth Netherlands and representants from several Nigerian villages that claim reparation for economic losses (agricultural crops and fisheries) and environmental damages (water contamination and soil pollution). The cause of the leak is discussed, being a result of bad maintenance or a sabotage. This case raises from fundamental legal issues regarding liability and territorial jurisdiction . In particular, the competence of the Dutch tribunal to judge the behaviour of a Shell's subsidiary abroad is at stake. There is also a related trial going on in Nigeria. The Dutch tribunal is expected to take decision on its competence by the end of the year.

On 8 December, Windeo signed a commercial agreement for the distribution in France and Benelux of the small scale windmill designed by Philippe Starck and manufactured by the Italian company PRAMAC . The small appliance is called "PRAMAC by Starck" and was presented at the Milan Design Week 2008: Green Energy Design. It builds on the concept of "Democratic Ecology" . Philippe Starck has been arguing for a long time for the democratisation of design, and now for the democratisation of renewable energy. There will be two models available, from 400 to 1,000 W (1, 3 or 6 meter high). A first bench of the 1KW models were available for installation at so-called Clients Sites Pilotes on 8 December (EUR 7,500 before taxes). The picture above presents the 400W model. Source : Press release , Windeo, 8 December 2009. Picture : PRAMAC.

Without any surprise, rumors have been confirmed and the seat of the newly created Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) has been attributed to Ljubljana (Slovenia). Two other cities were in the run, namely Bucharest (Romania) and Bratislava (Slovakia) (the strongest of the other contestants). In its preparatory documents to the Energy Council of 6-7 December, the Commission expressed its preference for keeping the transitional seat of ACER (the first five year's term of the Director to start in June/July 2010) either in Brussels or Luxemburg. But the Presidency announces an entry into function in Ljubljana already for March 2011 . The latter date is more probably the moment when ACER will function totally. Details of ACER objective and functions to come in a new message. References : Press release from the Swedish Presidency, 7 December 2009; Press release from the European Commission; EUobserver article, 7 December 2009. Legal text : Decision 2009/913/EU taken...

Her finner dere et intervju skrevet av Mia Gill Kristiansen for websiden til det juridiske fakultetet om mitt forskningsprosjekt. Mia stilte meg følgende spørsmål: Kan handel med grønne sertifikater gjøre elektrisiteten mer miljøvennlig i Norge ?

Investigations started in May 2006 , including on site at GDF premises in France, following the scrutiny exercise of the energy sector competition inquiry , without being related to it. The proceeding against GDF (at that time) was formally opened in May 2008 . European Commission suspected GDF Suez of abusing its dominant position and restricting access for competitors to the French supply gas market . In particular, the Commission claimed the existence of practice contrary to antitrust rules, i.e.: long-term reservation of transport capacity to most import infrastructures into France (pipelines and LNG terminals); network of import agreements; GDF Suez behaviour regarding investments and capacity allocation at two LNG import terminals in France. The legal basis for the Commission's decision is Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) (former Article 82 ECT) on abuse of a dominant position. During the investigation, infringement to Article 101 TFE...