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Energy Transition in a Transnational World
Within the sphere of environmental law, the climate crisis is
increasingly understood to be an intersectional challenge that
implicates and exacerbates existing systemic challenges and
prevailing pathways of inequality. From this vantage point climate
change also creates opportunities for rethinking the role of law in
limiting the destructive impacts of climate change and moving
towards a more sustainable and equitable world in the process.
This view is advanced by the climate justice movement, which is
swelling in influence worldwide. Drawing from the environmental
justice movement, the climate justice movement exposes not only
how social and economic inequality has led to and perpetuates
patterns of climate change, but also how climate change deepens
inequality by disproportionately affecting the most vulnerable
members of society. Climate justice seeks greater emphasis on this
issue and advocates on the part of those most affected by climate
change. The movement envisions a world which simultaneously
curtails the negative effects of climate change and reshapes
existing social, political, and economic relationships along the way.
Amidst the overlapping crises of modern times, the modern
climate justice movement is reviving dialogue at the intersection of
feminism, environmentalism, social and economic justice, and other
progressive law reform movements, as well as creating the space
and momentum for intersectional ideas to flourish. For lawyers and
legal scholars, the opportunity is to see climate change and
environmental degradation within its broader social context and to
seize upon the rule of law as a powerful tool for change.
Nowhere are these intersecting challenges as acute as in the
context of energy. One of the principal aims of the climate justice
movement is to achieve a just and equitable transition from an
extractive economy to a regenerative economy. This requires
transitioning from fossil fuel-dependent to low and zero-carbon
economies. However, the pathways for overhauling energy
systems worldwide remain indeterminate. Energy systems are
evolving in response to a combination of law and policy changes,
developments in energy technologies, and market forces.
Moreover, given both the entrenched nature of fossil fuel
economies and the varied social, political, economic, and
environmental factors that shape energy transition, pathways to
decarbonization are bound to be beset with complex trade-offs,
such as those between energy security and environmental
objectives, or between energy choice and economies of scale. The
precise contours of these systemic changes vary from country to
country, and remain under-explored both within their national
contexts and from a broader transnational perspective. This
knowledge gap is critical. Understanding how, why, and to what
end states are restructuring their energy economies is essential for
transitioning to more environmentally sustainable and just
societies worldwide. In short, this is an area in need of
experimentation and iterative learning. It is a subject ripe for
greater scholarly focus, particularly at the transnational level,
where improved learning and sharing is indispensable for
achieving the global-level shifts needed to address climate change.
Adapted from: Etty, Thijs et al. “Energy Transition in a Transnational World.”
Transnational Environmental Law 10.2 (2021): 197–204. Available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/transnational-environmentallaw/article/energy-transition-in-a-transnationalworld/9F9D4229588B39C0E5916DFBE82EA046