Legal Framework for Renewable Energy Transition in Developing Countries: Regulatory Challenges, Policy Gaps and Reform Pathways

Abstract

The switch to renewable energy has become a key component of global climate governance, but the developing nations have special limitations in legal, institutional and economic contexts of implementing the switch. This paper is a critical analysis of the legal provisions that are used in the developing jurisdictions in the transition to renewable energy, and it specifically addresses the regulatory design, facilitation of investment, and adherence to international environmental requirements. It claims that one of the many challenges of international instruments is its inability to offer normative direction, in contrast to domestic legal regimes which are usually characterized by a lack of effectiveness in law enforcement and inconsistent policies. The study proposes structural weaknesses in the energy laws, investment protection and administrative governance as a drawback to efficient transition through a comparative and doctrinal analysis. The paper contextualizes the debate on renewable energy in the context of the broader deliberation on sustainable development and climate justice with inequity and unfairness forced on developing economies. The paper suggests specific legal solutions to coordinate national structures with international obligations and enhance institutional capacity and encourage private market players to be involved with this particular aim, referring to the current literature (both published and unpublished) on the matter of international economic law, along with the background of the author herself as it regards to international economic law and regulatory governance. The paper is concluded by concluding that the developing world needs to have a consistent, enforceable and investment friendly legal framework that would facilitate the implementation of a fair and sustainable energy transition.