Rafael Leal-Arcas

Stanford University | SU

The legal aspects at the junction of interstate energy cooperation have become increasingly important in a world that is hungry for energy security. This book focuses on selected legal issues relating to international energy governance. International law as it stands today is not well equipped to handle international energy governance issues fully....

This article examines the status of energy decentralization in the European Union (EU). It discusses why it is in the EU's interest to decentralize its energy markets and analyzes the situation in several EU member states. The article specifically focuses on electricity markets and looks at how decentralization is taking shape with regard to these...

This article explores the links between climate neutrality and sustainability in the context of international trade. For that, it tackles seven main concerns: 1) what do industry leaders now need from policymakers to make them the frontrunners in the global transition to climate neutrality? 2) what coalitions are necessary to build and who are the...

The past few decades have witnessed widespread attempts by the international community to combat rising global temperatures. Without a doubt, instruments such as the Paris Agreement have proven essential in fighting climate change by promoting the use of renewable energy and energy transitions. Problematically, regions that rely heavily on fossil f...

The last few decades have witnessed widespread attempts by the international community to combat rising global temperatures. Without a doubt, instruments such as the Paris Agreement have proven essential in fighting climate change by promoting the use of renewable energy and energy transitions. Problematically, regions that rely heavily on fossil f...

This book is about how to make international trade greener for a sustainable and prosperous future. It examines whether international trade agreements can contribute to sustainable development. Whether international trade can contribute to sustainability is a novel, timely, and important question that will most likely grow in importance over time a...

This chapter offers three instruments to effectively mitigate climate change in the context of COP26 and beyond. The first is the interaction between the climate and trade regimes. To that end, this chapter presents a thought-provoking premise—that mega-regional trade agreements (RTAs) can take a significant role in climate change mitigation. It ar...

Through their Intergovernmental Panels on Climate Change, the scientific community tells us that we are heading toward a climate catastrophe. As a result, various countries are offering various promising and novel policy instruments to mitigate climate change and continue to grow macro-economically, as we witnessed in the Glasgow Conference of the...

In December 2019, the European Commission released a mechanism to fight climate change, namely the European Green Deal. This policy was put in place to materialize the goals of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change of 2015, that is, to combat the issue of climate change along the lines of sustainable development and fight poverty. In the context of...

This chapter examines the climate change mitigation law and policy of four major developing countries: Brazil, Russia, India, and China (i.e., the BRIC). It will first analyse the case of Brazil, then India, China, and lastly Russia. The chapter explores the main causes of Brazil’s contribution to global climate change (namely deforestation, cattle...

This chapter explores how the international trading system can help achieve sustainability worldwide. It aims to do three things: first, an explanation of how the international trading system (multilaterally, regionally, or bilaterally) helps and contributes to the achievement of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals; second, an analysis of the ro...

Supranationalism has been a topic of analysis from various points of view when trying to understand the process of European integration. This chapter aims at presenting the major theories of supranationalism when discussing the ongoing process of European integration. Three main theories are examined: (1) normative versus decisional supranationalis...

This chapter aims at providing insight to the EU’s external relations by analyzing one of the main elements of the competence structure, namely the allocation of competences between the EU and its Member States. The issue of allocation of competences is an internal question for the EU. The allocation of powers is a means to reach an end, that is, b...

This chapter analyzes the legal implications that the WTO services negotiations have for the European Union (EU) in the world trading system, as well as the legal consequences of the Nice Treaty reform of Article 133 EC (which then became Article 207 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union [TFEU]) in relation to trade in services. We...

This chapter addresses the World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations on trade in services that took place in the framework of the Doha Development Agenda (DDA). From the suspension of Doha Round in July 2006 to its informal ending in December 2015, we have seen the obvious weaknesses and deficiencies of the multilateral trading system and, as a r...

This chapter provides an evaluation of the division of competences between the European Union and its Member States, using some non-legal criteria, where we shall see how the Member States have delegated their authority to negotiate international trade agreements to the supranational level. The delegation of competences in the EU can be explained t...

This chapter deals with an overall analysis of the various categories of international agreements that contain provisions on trade, despite the fact that they are not based on Article 207 TFEU as their legal basis. The chapter provides categories of international agreements that contain provisions on trade, despite the fact that they are not based...

This chapter puts forward the argument of this book, which is that shared competence exists between the national and supranational levels within the EU because EU Member States do not trust the European Commission in the external trade relations law of the EU. A second contention is that the EU will have greater bargaining power in international tr...

The EU is more than an international organization but less than a federal state. As we have seen through the legal analysis of this research and through empirical evidence, EU Member States do not fully trust the supranational system when it comes to delicate issues of national politics. There is, therefore, a fundamental tension between the value...

This chapter deals with the role of the European Union (EU) in international affairs. It argues that, prior to the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty in 2009, with two European Communities (in 2009, there were only two European Communities since the European Coal and Steel Community Treaty expired on July 23, 2002), one European Union, and three...

This article offers three instruments to effectively mitigate climate change in the context of COP26 and beyond. The first is the interaction between the climate and trade regimes. To that end, this article presents a thought-provoking premise-that mega-regional trade agreements (RTAs) can take a significant role in climate change mitigation. It ar...

In December 2019, the European Commission released a mechanism to fight climate change, namely the European Green Deal. This policy was put in place to materialize the goals of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change of 2015, that is, to combat the issue of climate change along the lines of sustainable development and fight poverty. In the context of...

An effective, legally binding, and enforceable climate club needs to be immediately created. The climate problem has become a threat to humankind. The historical perpetrators are the western countries, but today increasingly major developing countries. The climate-club solution may prove to be multidimensional in that it may have benefits for famin...

Through their Intergovernmental Panels on Climate Change, the scientific community tells us that we are heading towards a climate catastrophe. As a result, various countries are offering various promising and novel policy instruments to mitigate climate change and continue to grow macroeconomically, as we witnessed in the Glasgow Conference of the...

This chapter explores the current picture of Slovakia’s domestic energy market, the national reality concerning decentralization efforts as well as their suitability to achieve it. It assesses the current situation of new technologies, namely smart grids, electric mobility, demand response, and electricity storage technologies. Further, it looks at...

This chapter analyses European Union-China trade relations in the context of the current negotiations for a new comprehensive framework agreement between the European Union (EU) and the People’s Republic of China. China is a strong economic power with increasingly sophisticated production in its coastal regions and is attempting to establish itself...

This paper explores how the international trading system can help achieve sustainability worldwide. It aims to do three things: first, an explanation of how the international trading system (multilaterally, regionally, or bilaterally) helps and contributes to the achievement of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals; second, an analysis of the role...

We know the science of climate change; we know the economics of climate change; we also know the law of climate change. However, we do not know how countries may come together to cooperate on climatechange mitigation. One way of doing so successfully is by putting together the climate regime with the international trading system via the creation of...

This book aims to explain that, by building climate clubs and making use of the international trading and investment systems, we can reach a better future for all. We know the science of climate change; we know the economics of climate change; we also know the law of climate change. However, we do not know how countries may come together to coopera...

Few people in the rich world may want to volunteer to reduce their living standards. At the same time, it is difficult to ask people from parts of the world that are still developing to sacrifice their chance to become rich. A middle-ground compromise could be technology that brings economies away from using fossil fuels as their principal source o...

We know the science of climate change; we know the economics of climate change; we also know the law of climate change. However, we do not know how countries may come together to cooperate on climate change mitigation. One way of doing so successfully is by putting together the climate regime with the international trading system via the creation o...

This chapter provides a fresh and transformative understanding of the international trading system for the promotion of a sustainable and prosperous future. Understanding the trading system as an enabler of social justice, this article provides specific architectures for the creation of a climate club linked to the international trade regime as an...

This chapter examines the climate change mitigation law and policy of five major developing countries: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (i.e., the BRICS). It will first analyze the case of Brazil, then India, China, Russia, and lastly South Africa. The chapter explores the main causes of Brazil’s contribution to global climate change...

This article explores emission units as a linkage in climate clubs in the hope of making a remarkable difference in climate change mitigation. It analyzes emission units trading in the context of regional trade agreements as a novel, promising, and effective way to mitigate climate change. It then examines Article XX of the General Agreement on Tar...

This chapter aims to provide an analysis of the European Union's (EU) external relations in the energy sector, focusing on EU-Russia energy trade relations and the Energy Community. Our hypothesis is that securing reliable flows of diverse sources of renewable energy would foster the EU's energy security and decrease its vulnerability towards major...

This chapter examines the climate change mitigation law and policy of five major developing countries: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (i.e., the BRICS). It will first analyze the case of Brazil, then India, China, Russia, and lastly South Africa. The chapter explores the main causes of Brazil’s contribution to global climate change...

This chapter examines the climate-change mitigation law and policy of four major developing countries: Brazil, Russia, India, and China (i.e., the BRICs). It will first analyze the case of Brazil, then India, then China and lastly Russia. The chapter explores the main causes of Brazil's contribution to global climate change (namely deforestation, c...

We are witnessing a paradigm shift in energy access. Energy security governance is decentralizing. Electricity consumers are becoming prosumers, namely consumers who are also producers, of (renewable) energy and using that energy in a smarter and more efficient manner. In other words, citizens are starting to become less dependent on energy compani...

This book explores the contribution that international economic law generally defined makes to the rule of law at national and international levels. The contributions of this book either: (i) examine particular features of the rule of law from a viewpoint of the contribution (at international or domestic legal level) that international economic la...

A transformative, integrated, and holistic approach to sustainability is necessary to reach a prosperous future for all. With growing inequality in the world, demographic change, rapid technological development, and 40% of the world's population with no access to digital technology, access to digital technology for all and, ultimately, having a pro...

This timely book explores the external dimension of the European Union's (EU) energy law and policy. In doing so, it provides an analysis of the EU's competences in the energy field, the Energy Community and its relation to EU energy policy, the energy relations between the EU and two major energy regions (Russia and the Gulf Cooperation Council),...

This chapter examines progress on decentralization in various European Union (EU) jurisdictions. It focuses on specific outcomes of decentralization, including the promotion of electric vehicles and storage. It examines the progress in various EU countries on these fronts as well as any existing barriers. The chapter also examines regulation that h...

This chapter explains two of the main Generalized Systems of Preference (GSP)-the US program and the EU's GSP. It indicates the reasons behind conditionality and possible future impacts. It discusses the European Union's Generalized System of Preferences, the objectives, the types of GSP offered and the various conditions to benefit from the scheme...

Energy is a key concern for every country, as it is inextricably linked with economic growth and sustainable development. As the world transitions to 21st century approaches to energy, numerous challenges arise to the forefront. These challenges include the crucial need for clean and renewable energy and transitioning away from fossil fuels, energy...

This book examines the status of the energy transition in the European Union (EU). It provides a thorough analysis of energy decentralization in the EU. It discusses why it is in the EU’s interest to decentralize its energy markets and analyzes the situation in several EU member states. The book specifically focuses on electricity markets and looks...

This book examines the status of the energy transition in the European Union (EU). It provides a thorough analysis of energy decentralization in the EU. It discusses why it is in the EU’s interest to decentralize its energy markets and analyzes the situation in several EU member states. The book specifically focuses on electricity markets and looks...

This book will be of interest to those in the fields of legal theory as well as the law and policy of international trade, investment, energy, and corporate social responsibility. The book is relevant to scholars and academics as well as policymakers and those working in the field of the rule of law. Lastly, it will be useful for people interested...

This paper makes two claims: 1) the unconventional view that the trading system can make a great contribution to decarbonization. The argument is that trade agreements have tremendous potential to help mitigate climate change, which is currently under-explored; and 2) the novel approach that the role of citizens in international trade, climate chan...

This article explores the current picture of Slovakia's and the Czech Republic's domestic energy market, the national reality concerning decentralization efforts as well as their suitability to achieve it. It assesses the current situation of new technologies, namely smart grids, electric mobility, demand response, and electricity storage technolog...

This article explores the electricity sector of Latvia and Portugal, the European Union's (EU) policy on clean energy, electricity, and smart technologies, the relationship developed between them, and the feasibility of smart grids' and other new tools and technologies' popularisation in the context of the Latvian and Portuguese electricity markets...

This article provides a comprehensive examination of the greatest threat humanity faces today: climate change. It does so by looking at the legal, political, institutional, regulatory, and economic angles of climate change from the perspective of major emitters and the most relevant actors in the mitigation of climate change. The article offers a f...

This paper aims at developing effective trade law and policy instruments for sustainable energy and environmental protection with a view to advance current legislation. In the past, trade law has been a very powerful instrument for change in other fields of science. My hypothesis is that trade law can be a tool to help mitigate climate change and e...

This chapter provides an analysis of bilateral, regional, and multilateral energy investment treaties. The argument is that, although investment is a major issue for energy production, in relation to the global governance of energy investments , there is no overarching regime. In fact, without access to energy, our daily lives would collapse. No tr...

We argue that international trade law may be the solution to decarbonize the economy and invest in renewable energy, but there must be effective measures agreed by the international community. That would require agreeing on preferential trade agreements (PTAs) with environmental and sustainable development chapters on a unilateral, bilateral, or pl...

Two main issues are addressed in this article in the context of rule of law in the European Union and the World Trade Organization. The first issue is the role citizens can play in shaping sustainable trade. Sustainability constitutes a principal concern for various regimes that, because of their nature, are in constant interaction with climate cha...

This article aims to provide useful insights into Romania's and Malta's electricity sector, and critically assess the extent to which their current state is conducive to European Union (EU) 'smart grid' objectives of energy decentralization and decarbonization. The article concludes that Malta has embraced reforms aimed at diversifying the energy s...

Greger¨ABSTRACT In line with the European Union's energy and climate targets for 2030, the European Commission has put forward a vision of an integrated energy system capable of delivering energy efficiency and a low-carbon economy. The increasing digitalisation of the energy system will serve as the vehicle to a carbon-free, decentralized, and dem...

This book explores links and synergies between international trade and two of the most urgent challenges of the 21st century: achieving sustainable energy (i.e., energy that is affordable, secure, and clean) and mitigating climate change. It takes the unique approach of not only examining how international trade can help achieve energy and climate...

This chapter discusses energy sustainability through the trading system and proposes regional trade agreements as means to further enhance peace and energy security. The chapter makes the case that, to achieve security of energy supply, two main factors are important: diversification to minimize risk and regional cooperation. It is suggested that a...

Technological innovation can meaningfully help with the reduction of GHG emissions. Businesses have taken on a leadership role in climate change mitigation, and cities all over the world produce innovative strategies for advancing solutions to climate change. Technology appears in several of the SDGs: goal 2 on food, goal 3 on health, goal 7 on ene...

There is no question that climate change is one of the biggest challenges humanity faces today. Today, 80% of the global energy supply comes from fossil fuels. Fossil fuels contribute to climate change and are finite, which leads to energy insecurity. We cannot use all the fossil reserves we have without seriously disrupting the climate system. Ren...

The increasing role of new actors in law-making has received attention since the 1990s. Developments in climate change and environmental law in this era have catalyzed innovative governance approaches by non-State actors and international organizations. These developments have created new legal challenges, both public and private, in a global multi...

“Smart grids” can be defined in a variety of ways. The following definition is proposed by the European Regulators Group for Electricity and Gas (ERGEG), and used also by the Council of European Energy Regulators (CEER) and the Commission: “A smart grid is an electricity network that can cost-efficiently integrate the behaviour and actions of all u...

The global energy market is still monopolized to a great extent by the production, trade and consumption of oil and gas. The EU is no exception to this rule with a high import ratio of both oil and gas. Unreliable oil producers, geopolitical instability in many oil-rich countries, economic and resource nationalism—which are a threat to sustainable...

The changing global landscape of the twenty-first century saw the emergence of new challenges which threaten the economic prosperity of states, the well-being of nations, and the human rights of individuals. This chapter takes the view that some of those challenges, which have affected the European Union and its citizens profoundly, can be resolved...

The argument goes that the causes of environmental problems in a market economy are economics and that the consequences of environmental problems have important economic dimensions that travel from producers to consumers of good and services. Hence, the importance of solutions that are environmentally effective, economically sensible, and political...

This EUCROSS working paper analyzes European Union-China trade relations in the context of the current negotiations for a new comprehensive framework agreement between the European Union (EU) and the People's Republic of China. China is a strong economic power with increasingly sophisticated production in its coastal regions and is attempting to es...

This book is an attempt to a thorough chronological analysis of the European Union’s (EU) existing law and policy in the field of international trade. This book analyzes the evolution of the EU’s external trade relations, as well as its common commercial policy competence through the years, starting with the Treaty of Rome up until the Treaty of Li...

This article provides a timely and forward-thinking analysis regarding the transition to clean energy. It does so by offering a behavioral-economics analysis of prosumer-market factors. We argue that transitioning to clean energy cannot be achieved solely through top-down or bottom-up methods; rather, a symbiotic relationship between government or...

Achieving greater renewable energy usage, energy efficiency, and energy security are practically universal goals today. Key emerging trends to this effect include the promotion of electric vehicles, deployment of smart grids and smart meters, as well as technology and regulation to encourage storage and demand response mechanisms. Overall, there is...

The European Union (EU) 2020 Energy Strategy calls for reducing the EU's greenhouse gas emissions, increasing the share of renewable energy, and achieving significant energy savings. All EU countries must also increase the share of renewable energy in their transport sectors. EU member states are at various stages of compliance. This article analys...

The European Union (EU) is working on several key goals related to energy, including greater energy efficiency, greater use of renewable energy, and increased energy security across the EU. Decarbonization encompasses all of these goals, and different EU member states are at different stages when it comes to progress on decarbonization. This articl...

This article examines energy regulation in two European Union (EU) Scandinavian countries: Denmark and Sweden. The article analyzes regulation in both countries aimed at promoting renewable energy, increasing energy security, and achieving decentralization via technology such as smart meters and smart grids. The article also identifies current barr...

This article examines the status of energy decentralization in the European Union (EU). It discusses why it is in the EU's interest to decentralize its energy markets and analyzes the situation in several EU member states. The article specifically focuses on electricity markets and looks at how decentralization is taking shape with regard to these...

This chapter examines the case of unconventional fossil fuels in the European Union (EU) and China. Recent developments in the extraction of energy from unconventional fossil fuels will have consequences for the governance of global energy trade and European energy security. When it comes to trading energy, there is a clear difference between oil a...

The Commentary on the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) provides a unique article-by-article textual analysis of this important international agreement. The ECT provides a multilateral framework for cross-border co-operation in the energy sector based on the principles of open competitive markets and sustainable development. By binding governments to co...

THE PARIS CLIMATE AGREEMENT IS UNDOUBTEDLY ONE OF THE GREATEST DIPLOMATIC ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE OBAMA-KERRY ADMINISTRATION. YET UNDER THE TRUMP PRESIDENCY, IT IS UNDER THREAT OF BEING DISMANTLED, JUST LIKE MANY OTHER INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS, SUCH AS THE TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP. THIS ARTICLE EXPLAINS THAT SUCH DISMANTLING WILL BE HARD TO ACHIEVE BE...

This chapter analyses the opportunities that prosumers, as new energy actors, bring to achieving energy security goals in the context of the European Union (EU). In energy governance, there is a progressive top–down diffusion of potential, competences, and leverage across the energy value chain from States and corporate actors towards prosumers. Pr...

Much research on climate change is being performed by many universities round the world. But despite this positive trend, there are only a few publications where an interdisciplinary set of researchers may be able to tackle climate change issues from a variety of perspectives: social sciences, natural sciences, economics, etc. This book is an attem...

This chapter provides an analysis on the links of climate change, energy, and international trade, specifically from the perspective of the EU’s external relations. The chapter first analyzes the links between these three sectors (climate change, energy, and trade). It then examines the environmental language in EU free-trade agreements. Finally, a...

The purpose of this article is to explain new horizons and perspectives in international economic law in the context of sustainable development. This article explores the potential of the trading system in helping mitigate climate change and enhancing sustainable energy. The argument is that trade agreements have tremendous potential to help mitiga...

The purpose of this chapter is to explore the potential of the trading system in contributing to decarbonization, focusing on the EU and international level. This chapter first sets the scene on how trade agreements may be a legal instrument to mitigate climate change and enhance sustainable energy. It then provides an analysis of the challenges of...

This chapter takes the unconventional view that the trading system can make a great contribution to decarbonization. The chapter explores the potential of the trading system in helping mitigate climate change and enhance sustainable energy. The argument is that trade agreements have tremendous potential to help mitigate climate change that is curre...

This chapter argues that the Kyoto Protocol to the 1992 Framework Convention on Climate Change was doomed to face difficulties ab initio and tries to draw lessons from the international trading system’s architecture for climate change mitigation negotiations. The UNFCCC has traditionally divided the world into developed countries (including countri...

This chapter provides an analysis of natural gas as a resource that can enhance energy security in the European Union (EU). To set the scene, the section “The Gas Exporting Countries Forum” gives an overview of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum as an example of the gas oligopoly in today’s market. The section “A Primer on Natural Gas Transportation...

This article contributes to the debate on energy security within the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region by highlighting various aspects of the energy sector, specifically electricity and gas, which are relevant to the discussion on regional integration and their convergence with sustainable development. Development is not possible without e...

This authoritative Research Handbook presents, for the first time, a comprehensive overview of the most important research and latest trends in EU energy law and policy. It offers high-quality original contributions that provide state-of-the-art research in this rapidly evolving area, situated in the broader context of international economic law an...

This article analyzes the conceptual links between sustainability, common concern and public goods. It examines the mega-trends of the 21st century in the context of sustainability. By doing so, it brings forward the novel idea of how greater participation of citizens can be very promising in helping achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. The a...

This paper critically analyses the new challenges and opportunities that prosumers, as new energy actors, bring to achieving energy security goals in the context of the European Union (EU). Following trends in the EU towards new levels of cooperation in energy governance, decentralization, and the emergence of a gig economy, the energy sector is cu...

This article contributes to the debate on energy security within the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region by highlighting various aspects of the energy sector, specifically electricity and gas, which are relevant to the discussion on regional integration and their convergence with sustainable development. Development is not possible without e...