3 results
Europeanisation of Renewable Energy Support Law: A Suspended Step Towards Harmonisation
- Edited by Bernard Vanheusden, Theodoros Iliopoulos, Anna Vanhellemont
-
- Book:
- Harmonisation in EU Environmental and Energy Law
- Published by:
- Intersentia
- Published online:
- 26 May 2022
- Print publication:
- 21 January 2022, pp 237-254
-
- Chapter
- Export citation
-
Summary
INTRODUCTION
In ancient Greek mythology, the goddess Harmonia (Ἁρμονί α), who personifies harmony, was the daughter of Ares, god of war, and Aphrodite, goddess of beauty and love. Extending the interpretation and the symbolism of the myth to the field of law, one could see harmonisation, that is, the action of bringing harmony between different legal systems, as denoting the reconciliation outcome of a process of dispute and cooperation, of discordance and understanding. In the end, harmonisation reconciles ‘the preoccupations and the interests of the various systems so as to avoid conflicts and clashes’.
Of course, such processes do not always end up with the desired result. In many cases, conflicts between different parties cannot be bridged, and harmonisation plans collapse or simply fade over time. This seems to have been the case with the plan for supranational harmonisation of renewable energy support law and of support schemes for renewable energy sources (hereinafter ‘RESSS’), which are instruments that Member States enact in order to promote renewable energy sources. But the recent enactment of the recast Renewable Energy Directive 2018/2001, often cited as ‘RED II’, might change the picture.
Since the mid- and late-1990s, when the first seeds of supranational harmonisation of renewable energy support law were planted, there has been little progress. The two first generations of secondary renewable energy law in 2001 and 2009 did not bring about any harmonisation, as it proved impossible for Member States and the Commission to reach an understanding. In response, in 2013 the Commission resorted to the term ‘Europeanisation of support for renewables’ and asked for more convergence in the field. But more recently, in December 2018, Directive 2018/2001 brought about certain interesting developments. The directive set down an EU collective target of a 32 per cent share of energy from renewable sources to be reached by 2030. This target is only binding for the EU as a whole; it is not converted into national targets, as was the case under the previous directive.
Finding the Spearhead of the EU Low-Carbon Energy Transition
- Edited by Marlon Boeve, Sanne Akerboom, Chris Backes, Marleen van Rijswick
-
- Book:
- Environmental Law for Transitions to Sustainability
- Published by:
- Intersentia
- Published online:
- 11 November 2021
- Print publication:
- 06 April 2021, pp 129-146
-
- Chapter
- Export citation
-
Summary
INTRODUCTION
Since the mid-2000s, and especially since the early 2010s, the terms ‘low-carbon economy’ , ‘low-carbon energy transition’ and ‘decarbonisation’ have appeared in quite a few Commission policy documents and have encapsulated the direction of EU energy and climate change policy. Most recently, the new supranational strategy that was presented in December 2019 in the Communication ‘the European Green Deal’ emphasised the need for a ‘clean energy transition’ , which involves decarbonisation and an increased share of renewable energy sources, more energy efficiency and energy security, as well as the rise of a fully integrated, interconnected and digitalised European energy market. In addition, given that the energy sector produces the most emissions in the European Union, with the production and use of energy accounting for more than 75 per cent of the EU's greenhouse gas emissions, energy reforms are crucial in the struggle to tackle the climate change threat. Therefore, the promotion of renewable energy sources, in serving the low carbon energy transition policy objective, is a part of the overall transition to a sustainable future.
In November 2016 the EU put forward the Clean Energy Package, with the aim to bring a comprehensive update in its energy policy framework so that the low-carbon energy transition could be facilitated. The Clean Energy Package in essence constituted a set of eight legislative initiatives, which became legal acts in 2018 and 2019. One of these legal acts is the new Renewable Energy Directive 2018/2001, also known as the ‘RED II’ , which establishes a common framework for the promotion of energy from renewable sources. This chapter focuses on the RED II and especially on the rules therein relating to the support schemes for renewable energy sources ( ‘Renewable Energy Support Schemes’ (RESSs)); RESSs are defined in Article 2(5) of the RED II as instruments, schemes or mechanisms that Member States enact in order to promote the use of renewable energy sources.
Attention is called to the question to what extent the provisions on the RESS design also identify the main actors that are expected to deliver the desirable outcome, i.e. the increase in the use of renewable energy sources.
The Jurisprudential Configuration of the “Polluter Pays” Principle: A Critical Assessment
- Edited by Barbara Pozzo, Valentina Jacometti
-
- Book:
- Environmental Loss and Damage in a Comparative Law Perspective
- Published by:
- Intersentia
- Published online:
- 26 May 2021
- Print publication:
- 13 January 2021, pp 53-70
-
- Chapter
- Export citation
-
Summary
INTRODUCTION
Almost 15 years after the enactment of the Environmental Liability Directive (ELD), quite a few lacunae in the established Union liability regime have been highlighted. One can observe significant discrepancies among national environmental liability frameworks that implement the ELD, which to a large extent can be attributed to a certain confusion about how the ELD applies, as well as about the meaning of the concepts and the scope of the exceptions.
Within this context, an important issue that remains unsettled is the potential extension of liability beyond the operators of the activity that brought about the pollution and the environmental damage. More specifically, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has recently dealt with the question whether national legislation that holds the owners of contaminated sites liable for the pollution that occupational operators caused while using their land can be in accordance with the ELD.
This problem has its roots in the fact that the ELD is explicitly based on the “polluter pays” principle (PPP). In this regard, it is controversial to decide whether, and for the sake of a more stringent system of environmental protection, Member States are allowed to extend liability beyond the apparent polluters so as to cover more actors. Of course, as might be expected, the problem is exacerbated if the actual polluters are untraceable or insolvent.
Accordingly, this chapter examines whether national environmental liability regimes that extend liability are in conformity with the PPP, as enshrined in the ELD.
In dealing with this topic, this chapter adopts a jurisprudence-based approach. The case law of the CJEU is examined so as to elucidate the notion of the PPP in the field of environmental liability. The emphasis is placed on a triad of relatively recent CJEU cases that deal with the PPP and the extension of environmental liability. This triad consists of the landmark case ERG, the Fipa case, and the most recent case, TTK. Particular attention is called to the judgment in TTK, which raises significant issues, but is still not as thoroughly scrutinised by scientific legal literature.
In terms of structure, section 2 presents the PPP as an economics principle that is translated into EU law. Section 3 presents the core content of the PPP, as clarified by landmark CJEU cases.