As technologies change and the scale of human activity grows, so, too, does the law. The surge of oil and gas production in the United States, spurred by hydraulic fracturing in shale formations, has fomented a sea change in oil and gas law, substantially infusing this area with more complex...

This Article examines the growing opposition to the use of eminent domain for energy transport projects such as oil pipelines, gas pipelines, and electric transmission lines. Such projects were protected from the state legislative reforms that restricted eminent domain following the Supreme...

Energy products such as power, gas, and oil have long been the world's premier commodities. Consumers demand that power and fuel are available when they want it and they prefer to pay less for it. Few know or care where their fuel or power comes from. So for years energy companies believed that...

The United States is in the middle of three profound energy revolutions — with booming production of renewable power, natural gas, and oil. The country is replacing coal power with renewable and natural gas power, reducing pollution while saving consumers money. And it has dramatically cut its...

Domestic laws are the ideal legal instrument to regulate the mining sector’s contribution to climate change mitigation and adaptation. Even so, as a stop-gap-measure, governments may consider updating model mining development agreements (MMDAs) or negotiating climate­-related contractual...

Indigenous and tribal peoples’ right to free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) has transformative potential. Where this right is recognized and meaningfully operationalized, FPIC can help safeguard a variety of rights specific to indigenous and tribal peoples, and while doing so, remake the...

International investment agreements (“IIAs”) provide enforceable protections to foreign investors based on the premise that enforceable investor protections will stimulate greater foreign investment flows, which, in turn, are assumed to promote development. However, as understandings of both...

The extractive industries (EI) are at a critical juncture. A period of significant commodity price volatility is intersecting with the global energy transition and, more recently, the major social, political, and economic repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic – a combination of forces...

Despite the fact that “heavy skies” (gravioris caeli) have been identified and legally classified as a serious concern since ancient times, air pollution still leads to millions of avoidable deaths and significantly impacts the climate. Today more than ever, the protection of people and a...

For the last 20 years, fostering greater transparency in the historically opaque extractive industries has been a governance priority in the sector. It is now time to build on the progress made and unlock greater gains from it. Achieving this requires getting serious about politics. The...