Energy Law: An Introduction by Raphael J. Heffron

Author:Raphael J. Heffron
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Springer International Publishing, Cham

3.1.3 Energy Waste Management Policy

Each country has its own energy waste management policy. To date there is limited international law on this issue for the energy sector except in the nuclear energy industry. There are firm international commitments in the nuclear energy sector to recycling some nuclear waste and to developing a solution for the long-term storage of other nuclear waste. However, there are still no clear solutions for the nuclear energy sector, although in the EU all Member States must have a new policy and law in place for nuclear energy waste by 2015 and notify the European Commission of this plan (Council Directive 2011/70/Euratom).

For many other energy sources the issue of energy waste management has not yet been resolved. For example, the estimated cost of decommissioning old oil and gas rigs in the North Sea, off the coast of Scotland, was estimated at £30 billion—for which the oil and gas industry will receive tax relief (Burges Salmon 2013). An effort has been made in relation to carbon capture storage (CCS) technology to find an EU solution rather than a national solution; however, Canada, the US and China remain the leaders in developing and conducting research in CCS projects.

For a student an interesting project is to examine waste management policy in a number of countries and for a number of energy sources. A student can obtain a limited but useful amount of information in the Yearbook for International Environmental Law, published by Oxford University Press and produced annually with country reports.

‘Good’ energy law should aspire to also incorporate an energy waste management policy. In some cases it does so, in that energy producers are required by legislation to contribute to an energy waste management plan; however, it is usually limited to this action alone. This needs to become a factor in decisions on which energy infrastructure to build.

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