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Durham Law School was honoured to host the 4th edition of the Energy Disputes Conference, organised by Dr Smith Azubuike and Professor Volker Roeben with support from Rahmi Kopar. The event brought together global thought leaders in energy law to address the urgent issues arising from energy disputes worldwide, particularly in the context of the energy transition and climate change.
Those who spoke at this successful conference include notable speakers such as Professor Damilola Olawuyi, SAN, UNESCO Chair on Environmental Law and Sustainable Development, Professor Leigh Hancher, and others.
The conference explored:
- States’ sovereign right to regulate energy investments in pursuit of climate goals
- Potential challenges of market manipulation under the EU REMIT regime
- The evolving scope of the right to energy under international law, especially in the Global South
- Legal questions surrounding the liability and treatment of scope 3 emissions
- Critical minerals and the energy transition
Key panels also addressed issues similar to those discussed in the Inter-American Court of Human Rights' advisory opinion on climate emergency and human rights, while critically foreshadowing the ramifications of the now ICJ Opinion on states’ obligations regarding climate change.
We were privileged to welcome speakers from a wide range of jurisdictions — from the EU to the UK, Austria to Colombia, Nigeria to the Czech Republic—reflecting the truly global scope of today’s energy law challenges.
We are excited by the Conference as many of its key themes and discussion points will also benefit students of our planned specialised LLM in Energy Law and Sustainability, which our Dr Smith Azubuike is leading, with support from Prof Volker Roeben and Durham Law School. The highly anticipated LLM programme will bring together a stellar faculty from all over the globe.
A special thanks to Dr Smith Azubuike, whose leadership and scholarship were instrumental in shaping the success of the conference, with support from Prof Volker Roeben.
Special thanks also to the generous support we received from Durham Law School and the Centre for Sustainable Development Law and Policy.