Seminarium magisterskie - prawne uwarunkowania energii, klimatu i środowiska

The primary goal of this seminar is to provide participants with a thorough understanding of regulatory issues relevant to environmental, climate, and energy challenges, to enable them to complete their master's thesis and graduate from studies.

The aim of this seminar is to look at the environment, climate, and energy from two overlapping perspectives: law and policy. This background enables students to comprehend how these fields have been used and continue to be regulated.

While working on their master’s thesis, students will gain a broad understanding of mechanisms regulating environment, climate, and energy by discussing various legal and policy instruments dedicated to, inter alia, reducing emissions, improving energy efficiency, supporting the development of renewable energy sources, and promoting electric transportation (as well as other areas of sustainability).

The seminar provides basic knowledge on such topics as the relevant international legislation on environment, climate, and energy (e.g. the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change of 1992, Kyoto Protocol of 1997, Paris Agreement of 2015, EU Climate and Energy Packages), legal definitions relevant to environmental-climate-energy issues, past, current, and future approaches to climate and energy policy in the world, correlations of climate and energy policy with other policies, institutions influencing climate-energy regulation in the world (e.g. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, International Renewable Energy Agency, national authorities like ministries, executive agencies), and an understanding of legal and policy theories including environmental, climate, and energy justice.

Aside from the texts and materials provided during the seminar, the following items are recommended for reading:

1) R.J. Heffron (2022), "Energy law in crisis: an energy justice revolution needed", The Journal of World Energy Law & Business;

2) M.M. Sokołowski (2022), Energy transition of the electricity sectors in the European Union and Japan: regulatory models and legislative solutions, Palgrave Macmillan, Cham;

3) R.J. Heffron (2022), "Applying energy justice into the energy transition", Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 156, 111936;

4) M.M. Sokołowski, R.J. Heffron (2022), "Defining and conceptualising energy policy failure: the when, where, why, and how", Energy Policy 161, 112745;

5) M.M. Sokołowski (2020), European law on combined heat and power, Routledge, Abingdon-New York;

6) M.M. Sokołowski (2020), "Balancing energy regulation: a day-watchman approach". In Economic freedom and market regulation: in search of proper balance, ed. R. Grzeszczak, Nomos, Baden-Baden, 167–186;

7) R.J. Heffron, A. Rønne, J.P. Tomain, A. Bradbrook, K. Talus (2018), "A treatise for energy law", The Journal of World Energy Law & Business 11 (1), 34-48;

8) S. Cassotta (2016), "The development of environmental law within a changing environmental governance context: towards a new paradigm shift in the anthropocene era, Yearbook of International Environmental Law 30 (1), 54-67;

9) M.M. Sokołowski (2016), Regulation in the European electricity sector, Routledge, Abingdon-New York.

The seminar's participants will be able to define, contrast, evaluate, and use the relevant regulatory mechanisms of environmental-climate-energy laws and policies. This concerns, inter alia, legal and policy tools used for the needs of regulation in environment, climate, and energy, including systems such as: cap and trade, tariff, quota, auction, and financial; also tax instruments, goals and obligations, requirements and standards, and penalties.

As a result they will complete their master's thesis and after passing exams graduate from studies.

Participant's involvement in the discussions and written work produced as a result of the conducted research.

"This is 10% luck

20% skill

15% concentrated power of will

5% pleasure

50% pain

And 100% reason to remember the name"

"Remember the Name" by Fort Minor (2005)