Risks, Rewards and Regulation of Unconventional Gas: A Global Perspective

Description

The global energy transition from carbon-intensive to renewable fuels has increasingly demanded a better understanding of the causes and consequences of the rapid development of unconventional oil and gas. Focusing on key countries including the United States, Canada, China, Argentina, the United Kingdom and Australia, this book consists of case studies and in-depth analyses that weigh up the risks and rewards at regional, national and global scales. Explaining how and why unconventional fuels are transforming the global energy landscape, the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats are explored through a political, economic and governance-based perspective. Emphasis is placed on how to regulate the industry, encompassing local issues, stakeholder engagement and the social licence to operate. The new baseline studies and standards introduced in this book provide a timely insight into the trade-offs across the social, economic and environmental domains, making this ideal for researchers and policymakers in energy fields, and for graduate students.

R. Quentin Grafton is Professor of Economics at the Australian National University (ANU), Director of the Centre for Water Economics, Environment and Policy (CWEEP) at the ANU, and holds the UNESCO Chair in Water Economics and Transboundary Water Governance. He served as Chief Economist and Foundation Executive Director of the Australian Bureau of Resources and Energy Economics (2011-13). He has published more than 120 scholarly articles in some of the world's leading journals in economics and the life sciences, and has edited or co-authored 15 books. Ian G. Cronshaw worked as Division Head at the International Energy Agency (Paris) between 2005 and 2011, where he was responsible for analysing global gas, coal and power developments. He was the principal author of the Agency's Medium-Term Gas Market Outlook in that period. Since then he has worked for the International Energy Agency as a consultant on the annual World Energy Outlook, and reports such as 'Are We Entering a Golden Age of Gas?' and 'Golden Rules for the Golden Age of Gas', publications highlighting the growing importance of unconventional gas and approaches to regulation, both viewed from a global perspective. Michal C. Moore is Professor of Energy Economics at the School of Public Policy, University of Calgary, where he teaches classes in microeconomic theory, decision analysis and energy technologies. He is also visiting Professor of Economics and Systems Engineering at Cornell University, New York. He is a former Chief Economist for the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado. His current research focuses on energy market regulation and a pan-North American energy strategy.

'Risks, Rewards and Regulation of Unconventional Gas is a useful and thought-provoking book. It provides a foundation for further research and analysis. A complete reading brings to the surface two general issues that might otherwise lay hidden in the deeper strata of law and policy. First, what is the role of higher-order rules in the development of unconventional gas? ... Second, the book also raises (by the vacuum of omission) the most interesting and important question in natural resources law today: to what degree are governments and institutions victims of 'regulatory capture'?' James Hickling, The Cambridge Law Journal