Michael Rodi Boeken

Focusing on an economic perspective, the textbook explores various aspects of public law, including the constitution, political processes, federalism, and the role of NGOs. It delves into specific areas of administrative law such as finance, tax, public economic, and environmental law. While incorporating examples from diverse legal systems, it primarily emphasizes continental European law, aiming to enhance the law and economics approach within Europe.

While climate change is a global challenge facing all humankind, every attempt to negotiate a common response has been fraught with division – a rift born out of the widely divergent interests of nation states and regions engaged in multilateral diplomacy. Still, as our understanding of the climate threat improves and lends substance to an increasingly urgent call for action, traditional dividing lines are beginning to shift; in many areas, formerly entrenched positions are giving way to a discussion about compromise. Yet even so, the road to an agreed solution will be long and filled with obstacles. Offering new perspectives on this evolutionary process, the essays collected in this volume describe the current state of negotiations and highlight the political realities guiding central actors in the diplomatic arena. More importantly, their value goes beyond providing an updated assessment of the present debate to helping understand the dynamics that have shaped past and existing divisions.

Climate change, financial crises and the depletion of fossil fuels are all symptoms of an increasingly apparent cause: The ultimately unsustainable nature of our current model of consumption, production and overall society. As countries around the globe are committing to greener practices and policies, the issue of sustainability has become a standard point on the agenda of policy-makers. Although the transition to a low-carbon society has proven to be extremely challenging, the ecological, economic and social benefi ts are multifold. From job creation to improved public health, from preserved bio-diversity to new business prospects, the 2011 volume of the Summer Academy proceedings addresses the opportunities on the way to a low-carbon society, and draws attention to the obstacles as well.

The combined edition of 2009–2010 of the international and inter disciplinary Summer Academy proceedings sheds light on major challenges in the fi eld of energy and the environment: climate policy, renewable energy and grid related questions. The collection of articles begins with an overview of efforts in the field of international climate policy and development, such as the United Nations’ CDM (Clean Development Mechanism). It goes on to study the regional particularities of climate and environmental policy-making, using case studies from Europe, China and Africa. Finally, the proceedings consider the important part that energy will play in curbing climate change. After all, this sector is the major contributor of CO2 emissions and therefore the major cause of global warming. Transitional energy sources like gas will be discussed, and the necessary adjustments to our current energy infrastructure will be analyzed in case studies on grids from South America and Europe.

Since 2004, the Summer Academy ‘Energy and the Environment’ has brought together practitioners and policy makers from countries worldwide to engage in an interdisciplinary discussion on practical solutions to problems of energy law. The fifth annual Summer Academy focuses on ‘The Paradigm Shift towards Energy Sustainability’. As is evident through the sheer scope of the articles presented and reprinted in this volume, discussion at the 2008 Summer Academy was rich and varied in ideas and interpretations. One thing emerged especially clearly – policy priorities must be designed to encompass a multidisciplinary approach to energy sustainability. Not only must renewable energy solutions be promoted but incentives must also be increased for greater fossil fuel energy efficiency and energy conservation. Experiences from both developed and developing countries are provided to illustrate needed sustainable energy solutions at the local level to address the global climate crisis.

From 21 to 27 August 2005, participants from a broad range of geographic and professional backgrounds convened by the shores of lake Baikal in Irkutsk, Russia, to attend the 2nd International Summer Academy ‘Energy and the Environment.’ Drawing on the recent ratification of the Kyoto Protocol by the Russian Federation, they addressed the opportunities and challenges arising for transition countries under the Protocol’s flexible mechanisms. These proceedings bring together the results of a close dialogue between participants and local experts during the Summer Academy, identifying obstacles to the implementation of the flexible mechanisms within existing economic, political and legal structures, and also highlighting the potential risks facing project partners and foreign investors. Together, the contributions to this volume canvas an interdisciplinary, practice-oriented survey of the market mechanisms underlying the incipient carbon market, and provide a timely and useful source of information for researchers and practitioners alike.

Starting from an international, interdisciplinary and integrative perspective, the Summer Academy “Energy and the Environment” aims at elaborating and discussing different approaches to a sustainable supply of energy. Aside from traditional themes of environmental policy, such as the conservation of natural resources and a sectoral focus, attention is increasingly converging on the prevention of global climate change. Feasible solutions can only be developed by way of international cooperation, with close collaboration between different academic disciplines and representatives of science, policy, interest groups and the private sector. This collection of essays, titled “Instruments of Environmental Policy in Liberalized Energy Markets”, addresses the fundamental challenge of assembling a suitable mix of instruments to ensure sustainable energy policies. The individual contributions draw on economics, political science and the law to identify central features of a sustainable energy sector.

Subventionen stellen nicht nur für Bund, Länder und Kommunen, sondern auch für die Europäische Union ein zunehmend bedeutsames Instrument öffentlicher Zweckverwirklichung dar. Entsprechend vielfältig sind die Rechtsgebiete, die Art und Inhalt der Subventionsvergabe bestimmen: sie reichen vom Kommunalrecht über das Haushaltsrecht, das Verfassungsrecht und das Europäische Gemeinschaftsrecht bis hin zum Weltwirtschaftsrecht (GATT/WTO). Jenseits dieser Vielfalt zeigt Michael Rodi Konturen einer sich herausbildenden Subventionsrechtsordnung auf. Seine Analyse folgt den Sachstrukturen der Subventionsvergabe als einem Entscheidungsprozeß, der folgende Bereiche umfaßt: die Vereinbarung internationaler Vorgaben, die Setzung von Subventionszwecken in der föderalen Mehrebenenordnung, die Erstellung des Subventionsprogrammes im Zusammenwirken verschiedener Organe und anderer Maßnahmen eines Subventionsträgers, die Verwirklichung des Subventionszwecks in der konkreten Subventionsmaßnahme bis hin zur Kontrolle der Zweckverwirklichung. Für jede Phase dieses Entscheidungsprozesses wird die Subventionsrechtsordnung mit bestimmten Problemen konfrontiert, die Michael Rodi zunächst systematisch darstellt und anschließend für die einzelnen Subventionsträger (Europäische Union, Bund, Länder und Kommunen) getrennt erörtert. Dabei werden nicht nur Abweichungen der Problemlösungsstrategien in den verschiedenen Rechtsordnungen, sondern insbesondere gemeinsame Grundstrukturen einer einheitlichen Subventionsrechtsordnung sichtbar.