The disruption of Russian gas supplies in 2022 administered an unprecedented shock to the European and global energy markets, triggering emergency interventions and market reforms to limit the impact of the crisis on energy prices and supply security. More fundamentally, the supply shock sparked a profound reappraisal of foreign supply and infrastructure dependencies, leading states to adopt new legal initiatives to strengthen the resilience of their clean energy supply chains. Energy geopolitics and supply security are now firmly back at the centre of global energy policy, and in this new geopolitical reality, we critically need to reassess the role of energy law in the creation – and avoidance – of dangerous energy dependencies. Energy Dependence and Supply Security illustrates the paradox of energy law and security: legal instruments of energy security have helped create the supply and infrastructure dependencies that allowed for the weaponization of energy. In turn, it proposes innovative supply security reforms that would allow dependencies to be managed, while still preserving the international collaboration that is needed to accelerate the transition to clean, affordable, and secure energy systems.

About the Speaker:

Prof. Anatole Boute, Professor, CUHK LAW