Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Call for Papers: Conference on the Legal issues associated with the development and use of Arctic energy resources, 25 - 26th September, 2014

The Faculty of Law, at the University of Tromsø is pleased to announce the call for papers for the energy law conference on “The legal issues associated with the development and use of energy resources in the Arctic”.
You are invited to submit proposals to present a paper addressing the conference theme, broadly construed. Without intending to be prescriptive, examples of topics that would fall within the scope of the conference include legal issues (domestic and international law) related to any of the following in an Arctic context: the role of strategic and project-specific environmental assessments; energy markets; energy security in an Arctic context; energy relations between the EU and Russia; the energy relations of Nordic States; energy relations between the EU and Arctic states; the role of renewables in the Arctic including wind, geothermal, tidal; non-conventional energy resources such as gas hydrates; the oil and gas leasing regimes of Arctic states; infrastructure issues (transmission lines and pipelines); navigation and other law of the sea issues associated with getting Arctic resources to market; liability issues and liability regimes for energy projects; insurance issues; project financing issues; delimitation of maritime zones and the management of transboundary hydrocarbon resources; extended continental shelf claims; energy resource projects on indigenous lands; social licence to operate; climate change issues (e.g. regulation of black carbon); Arctic energy resources and endangered species; energy as a human right; energy efficiency; regional governance issues (e.g. the role of the Arctic Council, OSPAR etc).

Proposals will be considered by the conference convenors on the basis of academic merit and policy significance and fit with the conference theme. Abstracts of no more than 500 words should be submitted to the convenors by April 30, 2014. Abstracts should be sent to maria.m.neves@uit.no.

We anticipate (depending on numbers) being able to cover the costs of hotel accommodation and meals for those selected to present papers.

For more information on the conference please visit our website www.uit.no/lawofthesea or contact christin.skjervold@uit.no.

Steering Committee
Professor Nigel Bankes—University of Calgary and University of Tromsø
Associate Professor Ingvild Ulrikke Jakobsen—University of Tromsø
Research Fellow Maria Madalena das Neves—University of Tromsø
Johan Petter Barlindhaug—Chairman of the Board of Directors of North Energy ASA

Confirmed Keynote Speakers
Else Berit Eikeland, Member of the Arctic Council - Senior Arctic Official, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Professor Timo Koivurova—Arctic Centre/University of Lapland
Professor Kim Talus—University of Eastern Finland
Dr. Anatole Boute—University of Aberdeen

The conference aims to bring together scholars, graduate students, practitioners, representatives of the energy industry, non-governmental organizations and indigenous peoples to discuss a range of legal issues associated with the development and use of energy resources in the Arctic.