The UN Sustainable Development Goals are an ambitious agenda for environmental sustainability, economic development, and social transformation. The SDGs include targets for governments, in partnership with private industry and communities, to improve access to affordable and reliable energy, reduce inequality, protect natural resources, and invest in transparent legal institutions and resilient infrastructure. Although transitioning energy systems towards a low-carbon future is a core aspect of the SDGs, the International Energy Agency anticipates that oil and gas will remain a significant component of the global energy mix for some time. Host Government Instruments are tools which governments use to grant oil and gas companies permission to develop state-owned resources. In addition to bringing substantial resources into governments, these HGIs often also include environmental commitments as well as commitments to local hiring, stakeholder engagement, and investment in economic development programmes. The different structures of HGIs and their precise terms and conditions are crucial determinants of the sustainability of oil and gas operations conducted thereunder. This book addresses how governments can use HGIs to advance the SDGs. Part I introduces the SDGs and the legal institutions and governance related to HGIs, including in relation to international energy development, international environmental treaties, the Paris Agreement, and human rights regimes. Part II examines specific provisions within HGIs and regulatory systems which relate to the oil and gas sector and SDGs. It provides case studies to illustrate approaches to HGIs and to identify opportunities for host governments and international oil and gas companies to advance the SDGs. The book concludes with a summary of recommendations regarding how host governments, in partnership with the oil and gas industry, can use HGIs to advance economic development and sustainability goals, and advances potential insights towards development of new and renewable resources.

Examines critical links between local content requirements and the application of sustainable development treaties in global energy markets.

Improving the Sustainable Development Goals evaluates the Global Goals (Agenda 2030) by looking at their design and how they relate to theories of economic development. Adopted unanimously by the member states of the United Nations (UN) in 2015, the goals are remarkable for the global commitment on a set of targets to reach by 2030, but also for the lack of a strategy of implementation. The choice of appropriate action is handed over to individual governments, some of which are limited by their lack of resources. This book explores how implementation of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) can be developed, especially in developing countries. The content, strengths and weaknesses of the SDGs are critically examined, alongside their relationship to ongoing academic research. The authors also investigate the actions of governments over the past three years by looking at the national strategies they have presented at annual meetings of the UN High-Level Political Forum. Improving the Sustainable Development Goals takes a critical but constructive approach, pointing out risks as well as possible remedies. The SDGs are seen as an opportunity for a global conversation on what works in solving some fundamental problems relating to poverty and environmental degradation. With the inclusion of a chapter by Tobias Ogweno, former member of the Kenya’s UN mission, this book will appeal to all those who are interested in policy analysis with a focus on development issues.

Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals through Finance, Technology and Law Reform Achieving the SDGs requires a fundamental rethink from businesses and governments across the globe. To make the ambitious goals a reality, trillions of dollars need to be harnessed to mobilise finance and accelerate progress towards the SDGs. Bringing together leaders from the World Bank, the financial and business sectors, the startup community and academia, this important, topically relevant volume explains what the SDGs are, how they came about and how they can be accelerated. Real-world case studies and authoritative insights address how to direct investment of existing financial resources and re-align the global financial system to reflect the SDGs. In depth chapters discuss how financial institutions, such as UBS Wealth Management, Manulife Asset Management and Moody’s Rating Agency are supporting the SDGs. The opportunities arising from Blockchain, Big Data, Digital Identity and cutting-edge FinTech and RegTech applications are explored, whilst the relevance of sustainable and transparent global supply chains is underscored. Significant attention is paid to law reform which can accelerate progress of the SDGs through SME Financing, Crowdfunding, Peer-to-Peer Lending and tax restructuring. To achieve the ‘World We Want’, much needs to be done. The recommendations contained within this book are critical for supporting a fundamental shift in thinking from business and governments around the world, and for building a more just and prosperous future for all.

A global assessment of potential and anticipated impacts of efforts to achieve the SDGs on forests and related socio-economic systems. This title is available as Open Access via Cambridge Core.

The aim of this report is to present an overview of the 17 Goals using data currently available to highlight the most significant gaps and challenges.

Energy justice is increasingly a purposive element of energy law and regulation. This collection explores how laws are constructed and how they could be applied in future to support an international transition in energy regulation in response to the challenges of climate change, whilst ensuring that energy is made available to all.

This volume examines the impact of globalization on international environmental law and the implementation of sustainable development in the Global South. Comprising contributions from lawyers from the Global South or who have experience in the Global South, this volume is organized into three parts, with a thematic inquiry woven through every chapter to ask how law can enable economies that can be sustained, given the limited carrying capacity of the earth. Part I describes and characterizes the status quo of environmental and economic problems in the Global South during the process of globalization. Some of those problems include redistribution of environmental burden on the public through over-reliance on the state in emerging economies and the transition to public-private partnerships, as well as extreme uncontrolled economic expansion. Building on Part I, Part II takes an international perspective by presenting some tools that are in place during the process of globalization that lead to friction and interfaces between developed and developing economies in environmental law. Recognizing the impossibility of a globalized Northern economy, the authors in Part III present some alternatives through framework ideas of human and civil rights, environmental rights, and indigenous persons’ rights, as well as concrete and specific legal tools to strengthen justice and rule of law institutions. The book gives new perspectives to familiar approaches through concrete examples by professional practitioners and theoretical discourse by academic researchers, and can thereby form the basis for changes in practices, as well as further discussions and comparisons. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of environmental law, sustainable development, and globalization and international relations, as well as legal professionals and practitioners.

Sustainable Energy Democracy and the Law offers a legal account of the concept of sustainable energy democracy. The book explains what the concept means in a legal context and how it can be translated into concrete legal instruments.