Green energy at the intersection of international energy and environmental law: Legal conflicts between the Energy Charter Treaty and the Paris Agreement

Unofficial AI-generated summary based on the public title and abstract. Not an official translation.

🔬研究者:国際法と気候政策の交差点を理論的に整理し、規制 chill の実証分析を提供。

🏢実務担当者:再生可能エネルギー投資に関する法務・リスク管理の参考事例として有用。

🏛政策担当者:投資協定下での政策余地を確保するための制度的設計に示唆を与える。

The conceptualization of “green energy” at the confluence of international energy law and international environmental law constitutes one of the most volatile normative frictions within contemporary international jurisprudence. Through a systematic doctrinal analysis, this article examines the legal nature of renewable energy and its structural intersection with four key areas: investment protection, permanent sovereignty over natural resources, climate mitigation imperatives, and the overarching principles of sustainable development. Central to this inquiry is the acute normative conflict arising between the Energy Charter Treaty (1994) - a robust multilateral investment instrument-and the 2015 Paris Agreement, alongside an evaluation of viable pathways toward systemic harmonization.The investor-centric protective mechanisms embedded within the Energy Charter Treaty framework-most notably the Fair and Equitable Treatment standard, the doctrine of legitimate expectations, and investor-state dispute settlement pathways-impose formidable legal blockades against state-driven decarbonization initiatives, subsidy reallocations, and fossil fuel divestment strategies indispensable for the fulfillment of international climate pledges. This asymmetry engenders a profound “regulatory chill” macro-effect, wherein host states dilute or defer urgent climate actions under the threat of astronomical indemnification liabilities. This systemic friction is empirically scrutinized through international arbitral jurisprudence, focusing heavily on the dense cluster of intra-European renewable energy claims brought against the Kingdom of Spain. The Spanish arbitral saga serves as a primary locus for assessing the mutability of state subsidy regimes, the boundaries of investor reliance, and the fragmented interpretive methodologies deployed by arbitral tribunals regarding state liability. Beyond its theoretical contribution to the structural integration of energy and climate law, this study offers immediate pragmatic utility for emerging market economies - such as the Republic of Azerbaijan-by articulating strategic recommendations designed to fortify domestic legal frameworks for energy transition, insulate sovereign regulatory autonomy, and reconcile competing international obligations. Keywords: Green Energy, International Energy Law, Energy Charter Treaty, Paris Agreement, Norm Conflict, Systemic Integration, Regulatory Chill, Legitimate Expectations, Decarbonization, Spanish Renewable Arbitrations, Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties.

• semanticscholar https://doi.org/10.61638/zkwb4444first seen 2026-07-13 07:03:53