Mapping Out the International and European Governance of Renewable Energy

The authors of this article aim to map the governance of renewable energy. They argue effective renewable energy governance at the international and European levels has become a major challenge of public international law and European Union (EU) law. They first analyse renewable energy governance in the context of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. The authors then examine the various international energy bodies that deal with the governance of renewables. And, they deal with renewables in specific sectors of international/supranational law and policy, namely the sustainable development goals and multilateral development banks in the context of economic development, the G7 and the G20, international trade and, lastly, the European Union's renewables legislation and policies, as examples of the most committed region in the world to renewable energy. The article concludes with several questions for further legal research resulting from the broad array of activity concerning renewables in EU law, international law and international organizations.