Sustainable Energy Law Notebook

Ci-dessous vous trouverez le lien vers une tribune commune dont je suis co-auteur et intitulée: " Présidentielles : les candidats pensent à l'écologie sans l'Europe ". Cette tribune a été publiée sur le site Actu-Environnement.com  et a pour but de rappeler les bases européennes du droit de l'environnement. C'est aussi un appel à une évocation juste et précise de ce droit dans la campagne présidentielle en cours à un moment où les candidats élaborent leurs programmes. Bonne lecture! http://www.actu-environnement.com/ae/news/banet-gossement-greenwood-virvoulet-presidentielles-candidat-ecologie-europe-28122.php4

The 28th European Energy Law Seminar (EELS) is now opened for registration . Registration website : http://www.never.nl/site/ Place : The seminar will find place at the hotel Hampshire Babylon, The Hague, The Netherlands. Date : 23-24 January 2017 Organisers : The EELS-seminar is a Cooperation between the Dutch energy law Association, the Energy Law Centre of the University of Groningen and the Energy Law Department of the Scandinavian Institute of Maritime Law, University of Oslo. On the programme : review of recent EU case Law, impacts of Brexit, winter package and electricity market design, cross-border infrastructures, future roles of DSOs and TSOs, capacity market mechanisms, renewable energy investments, recast of the renewable energy Directive, prosumers, security of gas supply, future role of gas. We hope to see you there for once again some fruitful discussions around EU energy law topics with other European colleagues. Do not hesi

I had the pleasure to answer some questions to Radio France International on the German Constitutional Court case on nuclear phase-out. Please see below the full article, with comments from diverse actors: " German government ordered to pay damages for nuclear phase-out " , by M. Woods for RFI , 6 December 2016

Today, the German Federal Constitutional Court released its decision in a case opposing the German government to the three energy companies E.ON, RWE and Vattenfall, and related to compensation for the rapid phase-out of nuclear energy in Germany . The Court concluded that the amendments made to the Atomic Energy Act following the decision by the German authorities in 2011 to accelerate the nuclear phase-out after the accident in Fukushima  did not infringe the right to property of the three companies. However, the Court ruled that those companies  were entitled to a "reasonable" compensation for the loss they suffered. The German Parliament has until 30 June 2018 to amend the Atomic Energy Act accordingly and the government  must reach an agreement on compensation with the three companies. As argued in my analysis below, even if this case remains a German domestic case, it teaches us some important lessons on the legal requirements for a smooth energ

30. november 2016 arrangerte NORWEA sin anerkjent  Høstkonferanse i Oslo, i samarbeid med Arntzen de Besche. Nedenfor følger en oppsummering av arrangementet: http://www.norwea.no/nyhetsarkiv/visning-nyheter/hoestkonferanse-2016.aspx?Action=1&M=NewsV2&PID=1145 Jeg hadde selv gleden av å presentere mine synspunkter om fremtiden for "Samarbeidsmekanismer og statsstøtte etter 2020 - Do's and don'ts." ---- On 30 November 2016, the Norwegian  Wind Power Association organised its renown Fall Conference. Hereafter follows a link to a summary of the event (in Norwegian): http://www.norwea.no/nyhetsarkiv/visning-nyheter/hoestkonferanse-2016.aspx?Action=1&M=NewsV2&PID=1145 Personnally, I had the pleasure to present views on the "Future of Cooperation mechanisms and state aid regime after 2020 - Do's and don'ts" . Picture: (c) Paal Frisvold

The European Commission has adopted and published, on 30 November 2016, one of the most comprehensive and voluminous legislative plackage ever, and definitely the master piece under the Energy Union Strategy . The so-called "Clean Energy for All Europeans"-package is available at the following webpage : https://ec.europa.eu/energy/en/news/commission-proposes-new-rules-consumer-centred-clean-energy-transition

The European Commission announced on 8 November that it has approved the national-wide capacity mechanism in France under the EU state aid rules . In its press release, the European Commission makes clear that, in order to adopt such a positive decision, France had to make some amendments to its scheme. Security of energy supply was also one of the main grounds for allowing the measure. The full text of the decision is not yet available, but the press release is available here

The 28th European Energy Law Seminar (EELS)  will be held in The Hague, The Netherlands, on 23-24 January 2017 . The Seminar is a unique opportunity to review the latest EU energy law developments including recent legislative proposals adopted by the European Commission and at the same time discuss in detail legal developments, case law and case practice in the field with colleagues from all over Europe. So, hold the date and see you in The Hague. On the programme: Energy Union and legislative initiatives, energy market design package, impact of Brexit, recent competition cases and EU case law, revision of the renewable energy directive, cross-border infrastructures permitting and financing, evolving roles for TSOs and DSOs, capacity reserve mechanisms, prosumers, and gas supply package. The full programme and registration details will be announced shortly on the NeVER website: http://www.never.nl The seminar is co-organised by the Faculty of Law of the Universit

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 pre

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:

Join us on Thursday 18 February for a seminar dedicated to "Current oil and gas law trends"  at the law faculty of the University of Oslo . On the programme : JOA, mature provinces, stabilization clauses, E&P rights, national oil companies, financial structure within shipping and oil industry. Detailed programme and registration : http://www.jus.uio.no/nifs/english/research/events/2016/02-18-oil-and-gas.html Time and venue : 1pm-5pm, Law faculty, University of Oslo, Kjerka room. See you there!

The news came on Monday (25 January 2016) that an arbitral tribunal reached one of the first ruling in a case concerning the cuts to the renewable energy support schemes in Spain, more precisely the changes made in 2010 by the government to the Spanish feed-in tariff in favour of PV solar installations (RDL 14/2010).

C'est avec grand plaisir que j'interviendrai au colloque de rentrée organisé par la Faculté de droit de Strasbourg les 14-15 janvier 2016 . Le colloque aura pour thème: "Les énergies renouvelables, nouvel Eldorado de l'intervention de l'Etat" L'énergie verte au confluent des perspectives nationales et européennes Pour plus d'informations, voire l'affiche ci-dessous et le lien ICI :