Postgraduate Course: Energy Transition and the International Economic Legal Order: Governance, Challenges and Innovations (LAWS11536)
Course Outline
| School | School of Law |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | The global energy transition is not just a technological or social challenge; it is deeply embedded in international legal frameworks governing trade, investment, and finance. This course examines how international economic law (as well as, to an extent, international environmental law) shapes decarbonisation efforts, from treaty-making and dispute resolution to regulatory innovations in energy markets. Students will explore legal mechanisms for attracting renewable energy investment, phasing out fossil fuels, managing critical materials, and aligning international economic law rules with climate objectives¿gaining insight into the governance challenges at the heart of the energy transition. |
| Course description |
The global energy transition, the shift away from fossil fuels toward renewable energy systems is a defining challenge of our time. While technological advancements play a key role, the success and trajectory of this transition are deeply shaped by international legal frameworks governing not only the environment but also trade, investment, and finance. This course explores how international (economic) law structures and constrains decarbonisation efforts, examining the governance mechanisms, legal instruments, and dispute resolution processes that regulate energy markets on a global scale.
The course is structured into four thematic parts:
- Foundations of the Energy Transition: introducing key legal and economic concepts, such as the distinction between energy law and energy transition law, principles of equity and shared responsibility, and the role of international organisations in climate governance. Students will consider whether and to what extent states have international legal obligations to transition their energy sectors, as well as the impact of economic policies on energy security and affordability.
- Trade and Investment in the Energy Transition: examining how international trade and investment law facilitate or hinder the shift toward sustainable energy systems. Students will engage with treaty frameworks, including WTO law, regional trade agreements (RTAs), and bilateral investment treaties (BITs), to assess legal disputes on renewable energy subsidies, fossil fuel phase-outs, and carbon border adjustment mechanisms (CBAMs). Investment treaty arbitration and the role of Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) in both renewable energy investment and fossil fuel phase-out compensation claims will be critically analysed.
Governance of Critical Materials and New Technologies: focusing on legal issues related to supply chains, resource governance, and extractive industries that underpin the energy transition. This section examines how international economic law regulates critical minerals, indigenous rights, and deep-sea mining, with case studies on resource nationalism, environmental governance, and human rights litigation.
- Financing and Future Pathways: addressing the financial and regulatory challenges of mobilising the capital required for energy transition. Topics include climate finance, green bonds, public-private partnerships, sovereign risk, and regional energy policies, with an exploration of treaty-based mechanisms for financing sustainable energy projects.
Throughout the course, students will engage with case law, treaty texts, arbitral awards, and policy reports to develop a critical understanding of the governance challenges inherent in the energy transition.
|
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Academic year 2025/26, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
|
Quota: 25 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 20,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
176 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Class Participation (10%) - Active engagement in seminar discussions, including contribution to debates, case study analysis, and critical reflection on readings. «br /»
2,000 words blog post (30%) - Students will write a policy-oriented blog post addressing the theme of next-generation Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) and Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) that incorporate energy transition and climate provisions. The blog should be accessible to a broader audience beyond legal experts while maintaining rigorous legal analysis. (to be delivered in Week 11) «br /»
3,000 words essay (60%) ¿ Addressing one of four questions |
| Feedback |
Students will have the opportunity to obtain formative feedback over the course of the semester. The feedback provided will assist students in their preparation for the summative assessment. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Demonstrate a critical understanding of how international economic law interacts with the energy transition, including the role of trade, investment, and financial regulation in shaping decarbonisation efforts.
- Evaluate key legal frameworks and governance structures governing energy markets, including international treaties, dispute resolution mechanisms, and regulatory innovations at the national and international levels.
- Understand the operation of competing legal and policy forums in climate governance, including how international organisations, treaty regimes, and non-state actors interact in shaping climate and energy policies.
- Assess the intersection of trade and investment law with climate policies, considering tensions between state sovereignty, investor rights, and environmental obligations in dispute settlement and treaty negotiations.
- Critically engage with contemporary debates on energy transition law, including issues of equity, sustainability, and economic development, while formulating well-reasoned arguments on complex legal and policy questions.
|
Reading List
* The Energy Transition at a Critical Juncture (Special Issue), Journal of International Economic Law, Volume 26, Issue 4, December 2023 ¿ this special issue will be helpful for a number of topics covered in the seminar
*Students will receive a comprehensive reading list for each seminar that will be a mixture of academic texts, case law and policy papers and will include:
* Johansson J, ¿Just Transition as an Evolving Concept in International Climate Law¿ (2023) 35 JEL 229 * Asmelash H, 'The Role of International Trade Law in the Energy Transition', The Journal of World Investment & Trade, 24(6) (2022), 847¿878
* Baetens F, ¿Combating Climate Change Through the Promotion of Green Investment: From Kyoto to Paris Without Regime-Specific Dispute Settlement¿ in Kate Miles (ed), Research Handbook on Environment and Investment Law (Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, UK 2019) 107¿30
* Vidigal, G. and Venzke I., ¿Of False Conflicts and Real Challenges: Trade Agreements, Climate Clubs, and Border Adjustments¿ AJIL Unbound 116 (2022), 202-7
*Cotula L, ¿¿Critical Minerals¿: International Economic Law in a Global Resource Rush¿ (2024) 15 TL&D (forthcoming).
* Jacques Hartmann, Ana E Bastida and Ana Maria Daza-Clark, ¿Transition Minerals: A Cautionary Tale from Greenland¿ EJIL!Talk, 29 January 2024
* Espa I, ¿Energy Disciplines in PTAs between Security and Sustainability Concerns: A Comparative Perspective¿ (2023) 26 JIEL 684
*International Energy Agency (IEA), ¿World Energy Investment 2024¿ Report, specifically the Overview and key findings section
*ICJ Advisory Opinion, Obligations of States in respect of Climate Change, Written statement of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) (19 March 2024), paras 31-44
*Certain Activities Carried Out by Nicaragua in the Border Area (Costa Rica v. Nicaragua) and Construction of a Road in Costa Rica along the San Juan River (Nicaragua v. Costa Rica), Judgment, ICJ Reports 2015, p. 665, para 104
Journals:
* Journal of International Economic Law
* Journal of World Trade Law
* Global Trade and Customs Journal
* Journal of World Investment and Trade
* Legal Issues of Economic Integration
* World Trade Review
* American Journal of International Law
* British Yearbook of International Law
* European Journal of International Law
* Journal of International Dispute Settlement
* International and Comparative Law Quarterly |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Critical Legal Analysis and Problem-Solving - Students will develop the ability to critically analyse legal frameworks governing the energy transition, assess competing legal arguments, and apply legal reasoning to complex real-world scenarios involving trade, investment, and environmental law.
Engagement with Contemporary Legal and Policy Debates - Students will enhance their capacity to navigate and contribute to contemporary debates on climate governance, international trade, and energy policy, engaging with primary and secondary legal sources, treaty negotiations, and case law.
Communication and Argumentation - Students will refine their ability to articulate, sustain, and defend legal arguments in both written and oral form, effectively communicating complex legal and policy issues to different audiences, including policymakers, industry stakeholders, and academia.
Legal Research and Policy Application - Students will strengthen their ability to conduct independent legal research, synthesise complex information from multiple legal regimes, and apply their findings to real-world policy challenges, such as treaty negotiations, regulatory design, and investment disputes in the energy transition. |
| Keywords | International law,energy law,climate change,international economic law,energy transition |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Miss Agata Daszko
Tel:
Email: adaszko@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Susanna Wickes
Tel:
Email: Susanna.Wickes@ed.ac.uk |
|
|
University Homepage