Multilateral, Regional and Bilateral Energy Trade Governance
Renewable Energy Law and Policy Review, Vol. 6(1), pp. 38-87, 2015
Queen Mary School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper No. 188/2014
50 Pages Posted: 27 Dec 2014 Last revised: 18 Mar 2015
Date Written: December 26, 2014
Abstract
The current international energy trade governance system is fragmented and multi-layered. Streamlining it for greater legal cohesiveness and international political and economic cooperation would promote global energy security. The current article explores three levels of energy trade governance: multilateral, regional and bilateral. Most energy-rich countries are part of the multilateral trading system, which is institutionalized by the World Trade Organization (WTO). The article analyzes the multilateral energy trade governance system by focusing on the WTO and energy transportation issues. Regionally, the article focuses on five major regional agreements and their energy-related aspects and examines the various causes that explain the proliferation of regional trade agreements, their compatibility with WTO law, and then provides several examples of regional energy trade governance throughout the world. When it comes to bilateral energy trade governance, this article only addresses the European Union’s (EU) bilateral energy trade relations. The article explores ways in which gaps could be filled and overlaps eliminated whilst remaining true to the high-level normative framework, concentrating on those measures that would enhance EU energy security.
Keywords: Multilateral energy trade governance; regional energy trade governance; Energy Charter Treaty; MERCOSUR; ASEAN; EU energy trade governance; WTO; IRENA; raw materials; natural resources; shale gas.
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