Global Energy Policy: A Legal Perspective on Renewable Energy Initiatives

This paper examines the challenges and dynamics of a possible renewable energy law. Despite widespread awareness of the global climate crisis and the international community’s recognition of the importance of transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energy, renewable energy law can only be described as soft law in legal framework. Through a critical assessment of various international agreements, such as the UNFCCC, the Kyoto Protocol, and the Paris Agreement, the study evaluates their role in shaping norms for renewable energy, while also highlighting their limitations in creating enforceable legal obligations. This study contributes to the ongoing debate on developing international legal structures to address the pressing needs of climate change and energy security in the 21st Century by highlighting the complexities created by economic dependence on fossil fuels, resistance from oil rich countries, and internal pressures from the fossil fuel industry, it examines the interplay between national energy policies and international cooperation. The findings suggest that a binding universal renewable energy law is unlikely to emerge in the short to medium term, as the transition to renewable energy would run counter to the economic and political interests of states and large corporations. In the long term, however, a universal renewable energy law is likely to emerge as dependence on fossil fuels declines.