SYMPOSIUM 'Just' Energy Infrastructures Development for the Climate Common Good: An International Comparative Analysis

This event is free and open to everyone, but please note that registration is required.

Convenors: Raphaël Heffron, Louis de Fontenelle, & Emmanuelle Santoire (UPPA-CNRS)

Objectives

A key goal of the energy transition is to ensure the availability of zero or low carbon energy. Achieving this goal necessitates costly technological advancements and a grid overhaul connecting generation and consumption. Beyond network upgrades, the transition shifts from centralized to decentralized systems with new interconnections and international collaboration needs, especially regarding more interconnection capacity. International investments are pivotal for implementing the energy transition. Yet, new energy production-consumption methods raise concerns about network balance and equitable investment distribution. Renewable energy developments expose social and spatial disparities often overlooked in public policy and law.

To address this shortcoming, our symposium tackles global energy infrastructure investment trends, particularly those serving a “climate common good”. It delves into an energy justice evaluation methodology to compare key energy shared infrastructures projects.

This symposium focuses on providing practical insights into these investments by tracing the financial flows and legal structures behind major energy projects. We will question the shift from public subsidies to contract-based renewable energy models and hybrid ventures, addressing investor risks and power imbalances, to better understand "who" is concretely driving the energy transition and which network geographies and power ventures are (re)produced.

Format

This event aims to foster a dialogue between academics and practitioners, highlighting critical legal geography and comparative legal analysis as essential tools for energy investment research. It will kick off with the presentation of a policy brief introducing an international energy infrastructure classification and an interdisciplinary evaluation framework based on energy justice criteria, paving the way for a just and sustainable low-carbon future.

Speakers are invited to present their research and experiences, focusing on utility-scale energy projects that serve international or bilateral interests (networks, generation, storage). Discussions may extend to compare these developments with those of decarbonisation targets and stranded fossil assets in the context of net-zero policies.