International Trade in Sustainable Electricity: Regulatory Challenges in International Economic Law

Description

Cross-border trade in electricity is rapidly expanding as a result of technical innovations, economic and geopolitical developments, and the ongoing decarbonisation of the electricity sector in response to climate change. The expansion of electricity networks and the integration of increasing shares of renewable energy (RE) electricity into the grid have made long-distance electricity flows both feasible and desirable. Drawing on the work of experts in trade and energy law and policy, and offering novel, multidisciplinary perspectives on the rapidly evolving landscape shaping international trade in electricity, this book examines the most important challenges - technical, economic, legal and policy-related - posed by long-distance and sustainable electricity trade. The book explores the regulatory implications of the policy instruments aimed at supporting RE electricity and considers how best to promote greater overall coherence in international electricity governance.

Thomas Cottier is Emeritus Professor of European and International Economic Law at Universitat Bern, Switzerland, a senior research fellow at the World Trade Institute, and adjunct professor at the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law. He was educated at Universitat Bern and the University of Michigan Law School, and was a visiting fellow at the University of Cambridge. He was the Deputy-Director General of the Swiss Intellectual Property Office and served as a member or chair of several GATT and WTO panels. Ilaria Espa is a postdoctoral researcher at the World Trade Institute (WTI), Universitat Bern, Switzerland, the Scientific Coordinator of the WTI Doctoral Programme and a lecturer at the Universita degli Studi di Milano. A former Marie Curie fellow, she received her Ph.D. in International Law and Economics from Universita Commerciale Luigi Bocconi, Milano. Her dissertation, Export Restrictions on Critical Minerals and Metals: Testing the Adequacy of WTO Disciplines, was published by Cambridge University Press in 2015.

'The significant amount of information is conveyed comprehensively and with clarity, which makes navigating the book a pleasure. This work will quickly establish itself as a point of reference for renewable-energy law scholars and policymakers, stimulating future research and multi-disciplinary dialogue on the topic.' Piergiuseppe Pusceddu, International Energy Law Review