Sustainable Energy Law Notebook

Hereafter is reproduced a part of the press release from the Council of the European Union agreement reached on 30 September to speed up the process of ratification of the Paris Agreement , and detailing the institutional process for it.  On 30 September 2016, the Council agreed to speed up the process of ratification of the Paris Agreement. This agreement sets the framework for global action on climate change. The Council decided to go ahead with ratification at EU level. Member states will ratify either together with the EU if they have completed their national procedures, or as soon as possible thereafter. To open the way for EU ratification, ministers endorsed a Council decision on EU conclusion of the agreement and asked the European Parliament for its consent . Once the European Parliament gives its green light, the decision on conclusion will be formally adopted by the Council . The EU will then be able to ratify the agreement . Full...

Energy networks and their operators are facing tremendous challenges as their role diversifies and the nature and number of actors they are collaborating with change. As challenging this can be, network operators should also turn it into opportunities, which will probably include more coordination along the value chain. This leads to greater interactions between the transmission and distribution levels of the energy system . In that context, the recent position paper from the Council of European Energy Regulators (CEER)  offers a timely reflection on "the Future DSO and TSO relationship " (DSO and TSO standing respectively for Distribution System Operator and Transmission System  Operator). Hereafter are summarised and commented some of the main points addressed by CEER in its paper.

The seabed is an area of huge interest for national states and commercial companies, both within and beyond national jurisdiction. The uses of the seabed are already multiple, but, as technologies progress, access to the seabed is getting easier and new uses appear. Seabed uses encompass: oil and gas exploration and exploitation, mineral resources exploitation, waste disposal, carbon dioxide storage, laying of infrastructures including pipelines and cables, military uses, use of biological resources and ocean energy resources exploitation. Which regulatory regimes apply to the exploration and exploitation of seabed resources? Is the current legal framework under notably the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) appropriate enough to deal with those new use types? Are the arising risks of abuse, conflict and pollution sufficiently taken into account and dealt with? The seminar will present current research efforts to answer those questions. Website of t...

The ocean space  is increasingly attracting interests, and the parameters of a new blue economy are progressively defined. Based on this revived interest in the exploitation of marine resources, I had the pleasure to present some views during the 2016 Ocean Week organised on 9-12 May Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim, Norway. by the My presentation had as title: "The exploitation of marine resources: legal framework, emerging issues." Website of the conference: https://www.ntnu.edu/ocean-week Picture: (c) NTNU, Ocean Week

The research groups in Natural Resources Law  and  Companies, Markets, Society and the Environment of the Law Faculty of the University of Oslo have the pleasure of inviting to a seminar on circular economy, with discussion after the presentations. I will myself present views on the regulatory issues facing the circular economy, and look forward to the discussions. Time and place : Seminar: Circular economy May 3, 2016 12:00 PM - 04:30 PM , Kjerka, Domus Media west wing, Karl Johans gate 47, Oslo   Registration : http://www.jus.uio.no/english/research/areas/natural-resources/events/seminars/2016-05-03-circular-economy.html Programme :

Velkommen til seminar om energimarkedet i EØS-området . Hva betyr de pågående endringene i EU-regelverket for Norge? Gjennom EØS-avtalen er Norge godt integrert i det europeiske energimarkedet. Som et resultat av Energiunionen og EUs klima- og energimål, oppdateres nå regelverket for energimarkedet. Det betyr både nye muligheter og nye utfordringer for Norge. Dette årlige seminaret tar for seg de rettspolitiske sidene av utviklingen gjennom foredrag fra akademia, forvaltning og næringsliv. På programmet: Ny politikk og regulering av energimarkedet i EØS-området, Art. 194 TFEU, capacity markets, state aids in the energy sector. Tid og sted :  26. april 2016, 09:30 -  , Det norske videnskapsakademi, Drammensveien 78, 0271 OSLO

The EU heads of state or government met in Brussels on 17 March 2016 to discuss migration and economic issues, but also agreed on conclusions on jobs, growth, competitiveness and on climate and energy. The final text of the conclusions is available  here . Some of the main points related to energy and environmental issues are listed below: