The Concept of Access to Sustainable Energy Sources in the Doctrine of International Law

In today’s world, energy is one of the fundamental industries and is essential for economic development, poverty eradication and adaptation to the effects of climate change. Access to sustainable energy sources (RES) is the foundation of modern sustainable energy, and international law has a key role to play in achieving such access. The aim of the study is a theoretical consideration and generalization of the positions of modern scientists within the framework of international energy law in terms of access to RES. The genesis of access to sustainable energy sources in the writings of scholars on international energy law originates from the work of Professor A. D. Bradbrook, who considers such access primarily through the prism of international human rights law and notes the paramount task of achieving universal access to RES in order to reduce poverty. R. D. Heffron formulated the access under study as one of the basic principles of international energy law, at the same time, the main place in the author’s works in this area is given to the concept of energy justice. S. Bruce noted the high importance of the Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All) initiative, the International Renewable Energy Agency and Sustainable Development Goal No. 7 in achieving researched access, and also highlighted a number of international agreements as instruments of particular importance for access to RES.

1. Alferov Zh. Energetika — klyuch k resheniyu problem sovremennoy tsivilizatsii // URL: https://www.rbc.ru/economics/14/11/2002/5703bfa69a7947afa08cdb7d (data obrashcheniya: 25.11.2021).

2. Abashidze A. K., Solntsev A. M., Akshalova R. D. Climate Change Mitigation and Renewable Energy Sources: International Legal Issues // Popkova E. G., Sergi B. S. Scientific and Technical Revolution: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow. — Cham : Springer Nature Switzerland AG, 2020. — 1744 p.

3. Bradbrook A. J. Energy and Law — Searching for New Directions // Stephens D., Babie P. Imagining Law: Essays in Conversation with Judith Gardam. — Adelaide : University of Adelaide Press, 2016. — 315 p.

4. Bradbrook A. J. Sustainable Energy Law — the Past and the Future // Journal of Energy & Natural Resources Law. — 2012. — Vol. 30 (Iss. 4). — P. 511–521.

5. Bradbrook A. J. The Role of the Courts in Advancing the Use of Solar Energy // Journal of Energy Law and Policy. — 1989. — Vol. 9. — P. 135–175.

6. Bradbrook A. J., Gardam J. G. Energy and poverty: a proposal to harness international law to advance universal access to modern energy services // Netherlands International Law Review. — 2010. — Vol. 57 (Iss. 10). — P. 1–28.

7. Bradbrook A. J., Gardam J. G. Placing Access to Energy Services within a Human Rights Framework // Human Rights Quarterly. — 2006. — Vol. 28 (Iss. 3). — P. 389–415.

8. Bradbrook A. J., Gardam J. G., Cormier M. A Human Dimension to the Energy Debate. Access to Modern Energy Services // Journal of Energy & Natural Resources Law. — 2008. — Vol. 26 (Iss. 4). — P. 526–552.

9. Bradbrook A. J., Ottinger R. L. (Eds.) Energy Law and Sustainable Development. — Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge : IUCN, 2003. — xxi + 231 p.

10. Bradbrook A. J., Wahnschafft R. D. International Law and Global Sustainable Energy Production and Consumption // Bradbrook A. J. et al. The Law of Energy for Sustainable Development. — N. Y. : Cambridge University Press, 2005. — 618 p.

11. Bruce S. Climate Change Mitigation through Energy Efficiency Laws: from International Obligations to Domestic Regulation // Journal of Energy & Natural Resources Law. — 2013. — Vol. 31 (Iss. 3). — P. 313–350.

12. Bruce S. Energy Governance and Institutions (International) // Filho W. L. et al. Affordable and clean energy. — Cham : Springer Nature Switzerland AG, 2021. — 1308 p.

13. Bruce S. International law and renewable energy: facilitating sustainable energy for all? // Melbourne Journal of International Law. — 2013. — Vol. 14 (Iss. 1). — P. 1–36.

14. Bruce S., Stephenson S. SDG 7 on Sustainable Energy for All: Contributions of International Law, Policy and Governance, 2016. — 14 p. // URL: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2824835 (data obrashcheniya: 12.12.2021).

15. Bruce S., Viñuales J. E. SDG 7: Access to Affordable, Reliable, Sustainable and Modern Energy for All, 2021. — 22 p. // URL: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3880960 (data obrashcheniya: 15.12.2021).

16. Citelli M., Barassi M., Belykh K. Renewable Energy in the International Arena: Legal Aspects and Cooperation // Groningen Journal of International Law. — 2014. — Vol. 2 (Iss. 1). — P. 1–33.

17. Crossley P. Renewable Energy Law — An International Assessment. — Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2019. — 269 p.

18. Defining energy access: 2020 methodology. International Energy Agency, 2020 // URL: https://www.iea.org/articles/defining-energy-access-2020-methodology (data obrashcheniya: 25.11.2021).

19. Gyawali S. et al. Enhancing Access to Energy Services for Sustainable Development in Rural Communities // Journal of the Institute of Engineering. — 2019. — Vol. 15 (Iss. 3). — P. 146–152.

20. Heffron R. J. Energy Law — An Introduction. — Second edition. — Cham : Springer Nature Switzerland AG, 2021. — 107 p.

21. Heffron R. J. Energy law for decommissioning in the energy sector in the 21st century // Journal of World Energy Law and Business. — 2018. — Vol. 11 (Iss. 3). — P. 189–195.

22. Heffron R. J. et al. A treatise for energy law // The Journal of World Energy Law & Business. — 2018. — Vol. 11 (Iss. 1). — P. 34–48.

23. Heffron R. J., Talus K. The evolution of energy law and energy jurisprudence: Insights for energy analysts and researchers // Energy Research & Social Science. — 2016. — Vol. 19. — P. 1–10.

24. International Energy Agency, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. World Energy Outlook 2014. — 726 p. // URL: https://iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/e6f58562-203e-474c-97a3-486f409aa7ff/WEO2014.pdf (data obrashcheniya: 25.11.2021).

25. Kaime T., Glicksman R. L. An International Legal Framework for SE4All: Human Rights and Sustainable Development Law Imperatives // Fordham International Law Journal. — 2015. — Vol. 38 (Iss. 5). — P. 1405–1444.

26. Lund H. Renewable energy systems: a smart energy systems approach to the choice and modeling of 100 % renewable solutions. — Oxford : Elsevier, 2014. — 362 p.

27. Roeben V., Mete G. What do we mean when we talk about international energy law? // Cameron P. D., Mu X., Roeben V. The global energy transition: law, policy and economics for energy in the 21st century. — Oxford : Hart Publishing, 2020. — 376 p.

28. Sustainable Energy for All. The World Bank, 2013 // URL: https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/energy/brief/sustainable-energy-for-all (data obrashcheniya: 25.11.2021).

29. Tully S. R. The Contribution of Human Rights to Universal Energy Access // Northwestern Journal of International Human Rights. — 2006. — Vol. 4 (Iss. 3). — P. 518–548.