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Showing posts from 2020

The First French Climate Litigation Ruling - Commune de Grande Synthe

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    By Dr Romain Mauger, Groningen Centre of Energy Law and Sustainability (GCELS) On 19 November 2020, the Conseil d’Etat (the French supreme administrative court) issued a historic ruling in the Commune de Grande Synthe case , potentially the first step towards a landmark climate litigation outcome in France. This ruling was released in the context of a surge in climate litigation cases in France and all over world . For France, the “Affaire du Siècle” case was filed in the Administrative Court of Paris in May 2019 by four NGOs against the government for its failure to act on climate change. And, in January 2020, a group of NGOs and municipalities filed a lawsuit against the oil major Total to force it to rework its “plan of vigilance” and better integrate climate risks as well as to adopt measures to stay in line with the Paris Climate Agreement target of 1,5°C in temperature increase by end of the century. While these cases are still pending, the Conseil d’Etat’s ruling is like

Green Transport: Private E-Car Infrastructure Subsidy in Germany

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900 Euros subsidy for private wallboxes to charge e-vehicles and a legal obligation to have e-charging points in all new buildings. Germany wants to push ahead with new infrastructure measures for e-mobility - but not everybody likes that. This blogpost introduces the latest measures to boost the e-infrastructure and further the energy transition in Germany`s all-important transport sector.

German Atomic Energy Act Amendment Illegal - Case Comment BVerfG 1 BvR 1550/19

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 The German Federal Constitutional Court decided yesterday that the way in which compensation under the Atomic Energy Amendment Act of 10 July 2018 has been organized infringes the German constitution. The court was particulary concerned about implications of the Act towards the right to property, protected under article 14 German constutution. Moreover, the court ruled that due to formal issues the amendment never entered into force. This blogpost discusses the facts of the case, provides background information and provides an outlook on implications of the judgement.

Biden`s Energy and Climate Plans - A Legal Appraisal

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President-elect Joe Biden pursued three main energy and climate missions during his campaign. First, he promised to re-join the Paris Agreement on `the first day in office´, second, he wants to embark on an ambitious phase-out programme for fossil fuels and third he promised to re-join the Iran Nuclear Deal. But is all of that possible from a legal point of view? This blogpost looks at the three cornerstones of his energy and climate strategy and assesses what the world can expect in the coming four years. 

Modernizing the Energy Charter Treaty - EU wants to stop investment protection for fossil fuels

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For almost two year now the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) is under revision and negotiations shall finish in 2021. The EU now ratched up its position on the reform of the ECT during recent negotiation rounds. The aim of the EU is to try to stop fossil fuel companies suing states over climate action. This shall, according to a leaked document, be pursuit by fundamental changes to the investment chapter and to the Investor State Dispute Settlement MEchanism of the ECT (ISDS). While earlier positions of the EU already pointed towards that direction, a new European Comission proposal for ECT reform now concretizes that coal, oil and gas investments shall be removed from the list of energy investments protected under the treaty. If approved, this change would come into force in ten years time.

The Energy Transition in the Built Environment – Towards Positive Energy Districts

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    By Ceciel Nieuwenhout, Post-Doctoral Researcher, Groningen Centre of Energy Law and Sustainability; Lead Author of WP 1 T1.2 Report to the H2020 POCITYF-project A substantial part of energy in the EU is consumed by households , for powering electric appliances and for heating and cooling. This presents an opportunity to reduce the consumption of (fossil) energy, with the built environment becoming a key-sector in the energy transition. Buildings, both houses and buildings that are used for other purposes, can be retrofitted and isolated to reduce the energy consumption (energy efficiency) and they can be equipped with small-scale renewable energy production units, such as solar cells (energy production). Combined, these measures may make a building “energy positive”, when the production of energy in a building is higher than its consumption. This energy can also be shared over a larger area, creating so-called “positive energy districts”. This blogpost first explains what posi

European Climate Law voted in by European Parliament

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Yesterday and today the European Parliament approved of the central backbone legislation of the European Green Deal, the so called European Climate Law . The initiative came from the European Commission and it is undergoing the ordinary legislative procedure, under which the European Parliament and its Committees first have to form an opinion, before negotiations with the European Council shall then result in a final law. The European Parliament is well know for being slightly more ambitious in terms of climate action than the European Commission, with yesterday`s vote being no exception. This blog entry takes a look at the main points of the proposed European Climate Law, the European Parliament`s take on it and the likely prospects of the law.

German Renewable Energy Act (EEG Novelle 2021) - Considerable Changes Proposed

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It has been the central backbone of Germany`s energy turnaround, the Renewable Energy Act (Erneuerbare Energien Gesetz). Enacted in 2001, it survived several amendments and revisions, changing from a feed-in tariff regime to a, specific German, feed-in premium modell. The current EEG stems from 2017 and by that time some fundamental changes were made to the system, as discussed on this blog . Now the german government decided to, once again, amend the EEG to accelerate the faltering energy turnaround. The new EEG amendments (so called EEG Novelle 2021 ) shall come into force on 1 January 2021. By 2030 65 % of electricity in Germany shall come from renewable sources and by 2050 the share will be 100%. This blog entry critically reflects upon the main amendments to the EEG that the government proposes and identifies four crunchpoints.

Greening the `European Green Deal´ - Ambitious or Out of Touch?

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Until 2030 the EU shall emit 55 % less Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHG), compared to 1990 levels. This is the aim of a new communication reflecting Ursula von der Leyen`s State of the Union-Speech but also plans by `Green New Deal´-Commissioner Frans Timmermans to sharpen the `European Green Deal´ of the European Commission. But given considerable issues with details of the plan, question marks are looming. This blog entry is taking a critical look at the new, ambitious plans of the European Commission and analyzes the underlying document that has been launched yesterday.

Coal Phase-Out in Germany: Legal Discussion about Compensation

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Germany is in the midst of fundamentally restructuring its energy sector. The country wants to close the last nuclear power plant by 2022 and simultaneously phase-out coal by 2038 at latest. Both processes are laborious, but while discussions and expropriation claims surrounding the nuclear phase-out have been largely settled, similar discussions about financial compensation for owners and operators of coal fired power plants in Germany gather pace. Now the government is pushing ahead with settling compensation - but not via a law but via a public law contract. This blog entry provides background information on the decision and critically reflects upon it.

New Full Open Access Publication: Clean or Renewable – Hydrogen and Power-to-Gas in EU Energy Law

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My latest research has been published in the Journal of Energy and Natural Resources Law and is titled `Clean or renewable – hydrogen and power-to-gas in EU energy law´. The article is gold open access and can be read for free here . Interest in hydrogen as a carbon-neutral energy carrier is on the rise around the globe, including in Europe. In particular, power-to-gas as a technology to transform electricity to hydrogen is receiving ample attention. This article scrutinises current updates in the energy law framework of the EU to explain the legal pre-conditions for the various possible applications of power-to-gas technology. It highlights the influence of both electricity and gas legislation on conversion, storage and transmission of hydrogen and demonstrates why ‘green’ hydrogen might come with certain legal privileges under the Renewable Energy Directive attached to it, as opposed to the European Commission’s so-called ‘clean’ hydrogen. The article concludes by advocati

Summer Break

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The energy and climate law blog is on summer break. Enjoy the sun and recharge batteries! The blog returns with new analyses on energy and climate law by the end of August/beginning of September. Many thanks for your support and have a good summer time!

Trio Presidency European Council - Can Germany/Portugal/Slovenia deliver on Climate and Energy?

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On 1 July the rotating presidency of the European Council is moving for one and a half years to Germany (1/July/2020), Portugal (1/January/2021) and Slovenia (1/July/2021). The European Council defines the EU's overall political direction and consits of heads of state or government of the 27 EU member states, the European Council President and the President of the European Commission. The three countries that will take over the presidency from 1 July 2020 drew up a unified action programme for the coming years. We take a look at their agenda and critically assess whether or not it can bring about a boost for the energy transition in times of COVID-19.

Germany´s National Hydrogen Strategy Released

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On 10 June 2020 the German government finally released its long-anticipated national hydrogen strategy. We take a look at the most important provisions, provide an overview and flag issues. The blog entry also discusses particular legal amendments to the energy market design in Germany. The aim of the  national hydrogen strategy is to boost hydrogen in Germany further and ultimately create a hydrogen economy, with Germany as `hydrogen world leader´. The national hydrogen strategy is available here.

Nord Stream 2 - When is a Pipeline Really Built?

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The Nord Stream 2 - saga continues. The German energy regulator Bundesnetzagentur rejected an application of the Nord Stream 2 operating consortium to obtain an exemption from EU unbundling rules after the Gas Directive was amended in 2019. The argumentation of the regulator strikes at a crucial point - is a pipeline already built when 160 kilometres are still missing?

Study Review: EU Commission Energy Storage Study DOI: 10.2833/077257

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Yesterday the European Commission published a new study on energy storage. The study re-affirms that energy storage is one of the most important bottlenecks in the European Union for the acceleration of growth of renewable energy in our energy systems. This blog entry takes a look at the main outcomes of the study, focussing on the regulatory and legal parts. While overall the study can be recommended as a valuable source for future research, two areas of interest for energy lawyers can be highlighted that require a more in-depth discussion.

Corona and Energy Law

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The coronavirus (COVID-19) keeps affecting all areas of life and also impacts upon energy law. This blog entry provides a first overview of energy law measures that selected European countries (Germany and the Netherlands) have taken to tackle the energy-related repercussions of the corona-crisis.

German National Hydrogen Strategy - Back to the Future?

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This month the German economic ministry produced a first draft of the long-awaited national hydrogen strategy. Germany is a key European country when it comes to hydrogen and the most advanced in Europe in terms of electricity storage via hydrogen, the so called Power-to-Gas technology. The aim of the draft national hydrogen strategy is to boost hydrogen in Germany further and ultimately create a hydrogen economy. The economic minister Peter Altmaier said that Germany wants to become ` world leader for hydrogen technologies ` and the German science minister Anja Karliczek added that hydrogen is ` the oil of tomorrow`. But can the measures described in the new draft hydrogen strategy pave the way? This blog entry is taking a look and explains which are the next steps.

European Green Deal - What is the Just Transition Mechanism?

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By Dr. Romain Mauger 1.        Introduction On 11 December 2019, the new European Commission presided by Ursula Von der Leyen presented the European Green Deal. The aim for the EU is to become climate-neutral by 2050 and this will require massive investments. The financial part of this Green Deal is the European Green Deal Investment Plan (EGDIP) , revealed on 14 January 2020. This programme should mobilise “at least €1 trillion of sustainable investments ” until 2030 . The graph below shows the split in terms of origin of the money for such investments with half of it to come directly from the EU budget, over a quarter from public and private investments guaranteed by InvestEU, over a 10% from national co-financing, a reduced part from the EU ETS and, in the middle of this vast sum of money, the Just Transition Mechanism (JTM). Source: The European Green Deal Investment Plan and Just Transition Mechanism explained, EC, Brussels, 14 January 2020, p. 1.

New Publications in `European Energy Law Report XIII`

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The new European Energy Law Report XIII has just been published. I had the honor to contribute two chapters together with two colleagues: Ruven Fleming and Gijs Kreeft `Chapter V Power-to-Gas and Hydrogen for Energy Storage under EU Energy Law´ 101-125 and Lolke Braaksma and Ruven Fleming `Chapter XIII Phasing Out Coal-Fired Power Plants in the European Union: Examples from the Netherlands and Germany´ 261-287. The book is available from Intersentia .

31st European Energy Law Seminar

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The 31st European Energy Law Seminar takes place on 19, 20 and 21 January 2020 at the Babylon Hotel in The Hague (Netherlands). The programme and all further details are available here . Registration is possible via the website of the Dutch Energy Law Association www.never.nl .