This chapter examines the rules that place limits on the negative externalities of international energy transactions. It begins with a discussion of certain rules which appear in the very instruments enabling and protecting the transaction (investment, trade and transit). The advantages and disadvantages of including these ‘special’ externality-relevant rules in such instruments are analysed in the light of some illustrations. Subsequently, it examines the ‘general’ externality-relevant rules, namely those laid down in instruments whose main purpose is not the organisation of international energy transactions but the regulation of their negative externalities. The discussion is organised in four steps based on whether the relevant rules focus on cost-internalisation, prevention, response or reparation.

This chapter examines the use of the ad hoc approach to energy governance in the context of the exploitation of certain resources, hydroelectricity and offshore wind power, and then in that relating to fixed transmission infrastructures, pipelines and electricity transmission lines. The increasing variety of applications of the ad hoc approach, particularly to modern renewable energies and electrification, can be seen as a manifestation of the ongoing energy transition. From the analytical perspective used in this book, such applications illustrate the ad hoc legal organisation of new transactions, enabled by the energy transition.

This final chapter begins with an account of the interconnections between technological transformation and institutional structures, drawing upon the theory of socio-technical transitions. It then discusses the main manifestations of the energy transformation, broadly understood as encompassing the technological transition and its wider socio-economic and geopolitical implications. Finally, it analyses the interactions between the process of energy transformation and the international law of energy, drawing upon the more detailed analysis of the rules, processes and institutions conducted in previous chapters.

This introduction presents the main research question, its context and how the book structures its analysis.

This chapter examines the main features of the ad hoc approach to energy governance focusing on its most representative historical application, the joint development of oil and gas. After a discussion of the failed attempts by the UN International Law Commission to develop principles governing shared oil and gas resources, it analyses in detail the structure, content and legal issues presented by agreements for the joint development of hydrocarbon deposits. It then moves to their proximate context, namely the principles applicable to the exploitation of hydrocarbon deposits in disputed and undelimited areas.

This chapter examines three main forms of proto-centralisation in energy governance, namely producer/consumer organisations by reference to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the International Energy Agency (IEA), the International Energy Forum (IEF) and the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF); promotion organisations, by reference to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA); and regional organisations, by reference to the EU Energy Union, the Latin American Organization on Energy Cooperation (OLADE) and the ASEAN Energy Cooperation framework.

This chapter examines the entitlements of different entities, such as States, peoples and other groups, international organisations and individuals over energy, understood as resources converted into products through a range of activities relying on certain technologies. International law contains rules which confer such entitlements and organise allocation among competing uses. Such rules are the legal infrastructure upon which international energy transactions are organised. The chapter then discusses other rules, which organise the cross-border movements necessary to access resources where they are located and process them – through certain activities and technologies – for consumption in the form of products in other countries. Enabling access and protecting the processes of conversion and transfer are key aspects of a range of rules governing foreign investment, trade and transit relating to energy.

This conclusion summarises the findings of the analysis conducted in the book: the international law of energy must be understood as the entirety of international law seen from the prism of energy as a legal object; and the energy transition, indeed the energy transformation, is being organised through a combination of both old and new rules spanning the entirety of international law.

This chapter examines the main features of the centralised approach in general terms before turning to its clearest illustration, the international law of nuclear energy. The examination of the latter follows two main steps. Firstly, the chapter discusses the ‘dual use’ of nuclear technology, for civil and military purposes, as main historical driver for centralisation. Secondly, it analyses the structure and content of the centralised governance of nuclear energy, paying particular attention to the role of the IAEA. The international law of nuclear energy is presented by reference to the legal balance between nuclear cooperation and safeguards, safety standards (prevention, response and reparation) and environmental protection.

This chapter introduces the conceptual foundations of the international law of energy. It characterises ‘energy’ as a legal object, describes the purposes pursued over time by the international law of energy, analyses the overall structure of international energy transactions and presents the main patterns that can be extracted from a detailed and comprehensive analysis of the relevant rules, instruments and institutions.