Sustainable Energy Law Notebook

This new edited volume by A. Wawryk, H. Trischmann, C. Banet, E. Pereira and K. Hall has just been published: " The Regulation of Decommissining, Abandament and Reuse Initiatives in the Oil and Gas Industry: From Obligation to Opportunities " (Wolters Kluwer, August 2020) Overview The book gives a comprehensive description and critique of the key issues that must be addressed by nations, and of the current international, regional, and national law and policy in this field. With thousands of offshore oil and gas platforms in place across the globe, the decommissioning of these ageing installations is becoming of increasing concern to regulators, industry and other stakeholders in the marine environment. This book elucidates current initiatives aimed at maximising reuse and repurposing opportunities, such as wind power, hydrogen, carbon capture, and storage by analysing the relevant law and practices of selected oil- and gas-producing nations. Capitalising on the good decommiss...

Here is a link to today's decision from The Hague District Court in case Urgenda Foundation vs. the State of The Netherlands . The Court ruled that the Dutch state "must" take more action to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions in The Netherlands . The operative part of the decision states that: THE RULING The court: 5.1. orders the State to limit the joint volume of Dutch annual greenhouse gas emissions, or have them limited, so that this volume will have reduced by at least 25% at the end of 2020 compared to the level of the year 1990, as claimed by Urgenda , in so far as acting on its own behalf ; ...

The European Parliament and the Council reached on 21 February 2013 a political agreement on the legislative proposal on safety of offshore oil and gas prospection, exploration and production activities (COM(2011) 688 final).  For a description of the initial proposal, see previous post here . For a short overview of the agreement text, see press release from the European Commission ( IP/13/149 ). Shortly put, the main elements of the agreement are as follows: A directive  it will be. The Commission initially proposed a regulation (directly binding), but the final text takes the form of a directive which allows more flexibility in transposition for the Member States in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity. It will allows keeping some national approaches to offshore safety already in place. Licensing - Only operators with proven technical and financial capacities will obtain a license. Public participation must be ensures before the start of t...

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.