World Trade Law And The Emergence Of International Electricity Markets

The expansion of cross-border power transmission infrastructures and the regional integration of electricity markets are accelerating on several continents. The internationalization of trade in electric energy is embedded in an even greater transformation: the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energies and the race to net zero emissions. Against this backdrop, this book provides a comprehensive examination of the regulatory framework that governs the established and newly emerging electricity trading relations. Taking the technical and economic foundations as a starting point and thoroughly examining current developments on four continents, the book provides a global perspective on the state of the art in electricity market integration. in doing so, it focuses on the most relevant issues including transit of electricity, quantitative restrictions, market foreclosure and anti-competitive practices employed by the actors on electricity markets. In turn, the book carefully analyzes the regulatory framework provided by the WTO Agreements, the Energy Charter Treaty and other relevant preferential trade agreements. In its closing section, it moves beyond the applicable legal architecture to make concrete proposals on the future design of global trade rules specifically tailored to the electricity sector, which could provide a more reliable and transparent framework for the multilateral regulation of electricity trade.

A study of energy regulation in international trade law against the backdrop of energy markets that have undergone radical change.

Starting from the premise that a multilateral legal framework is the surest way to achieve predictability and transparency under conditions of increasing reliance on internationally traded energy, the essays gathered in this book treat the many complex interlocking issues raised by examining that desideratum in the light of current reality. Concentrating on the application of WTO agreements to energy trade – as well as energy-related issues addressed in the current WTO negotiations – the authors offer in-depth discussion and analysis of such issues as the following: the effectiveness of existing WTO agreements in addressing issues pertinent to energy trade how restrictive practices of energy endowed countries can be tackled under existing international trade rules; existing frameworks for investment in highly capital-intensive energy infrastructure projects;and conditions for access to pipelines and transmission grids; regulation of energy services; bioenergy development and trade; energy issues addressed in the WTO accession negotiations of energy endowed countries; international instruments of resolution of energy-related disputes.

This book explores the regulatory challenges posed by the changing landscape of electricity trade to the multilateral trading system.

This book aims to describe the mechanisms of the internal wholesale electricity market in terms of the legal tools and practices used by electricity producers, the most important market participants. In this regard, the focus is on Northwestern Europe. Because of the book's functional perspective, it is not limited to the external regulation of electricity markets at the EU level and also describes the business models and practices employed by electricity producers. Both the physical and financial marketplaces are examined and topics including electricity supply, balancing, transmission and derivatives are covered. The target for the completion of the EU's internal electricity market was 2014. The internal wholesale electricity market is very important not only for electricity producers, suppliers and major end consumers but also for network operators, marketplace operators, electricity technology firms, investment firms and market regulators.

Drawing on the expertise of leading voices, this book takes stock of key challenges in addressing climate change mitigation, serving as a reference tool for understanding the interface between international trade and climate and shedding light on key issues including global commons, border tax adjustment, subsidies and biofuels.

The book examines the legal guarantees provided under the European Union (EU) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) rules for the development of electricity transmission systems, either by constructing new transmission lines or by increasing transmission capacity. In the context of an analysis of trade rules, the book makes the argument that, if long-distance trade in electricity remains a feasible option, the development of electricity transmission projects must be made subject to economic, technological, and environmental criteria. This topic is dealt with in light of specific challenges of electricity trade related to its dependence on networks, storage and balancing. The book offers insights into the scope of the WTO and the EU related to access to and the development of cross-border electricity infrastructure development, connection, and integration of abundant renewable energies into the electricity systems. It criticizes the EU's regulations in terms of a lack of technological neutrality, as well as the WTO system in terms of lack of sector-tailored regulations that are necessary to achieve the objectives of the WTO to facilitate trade and transit. The regulatory environment for the development of cross-border electricity transmission projects has been examined based on identified obstacles from the analysis of the major multinational electricity systems in the world. [Subject: International Trade Law, Energy Law, EU Law, WTO]

"Liberalizing Global Trade in Energy Services is one in a series of new AEI studies on negotiations to liberalize trade in services. Each study focuses on a particular service sector, identifies the major obstacles to liberalization in that area, and presents policy options for trade negotiators and interested private-sector participants."--Jacket.