Energy and Environment law

The Environment problems mark surely this beginning of century. The right to the Environment assumes a main role and interferes with the international trade.
With it, rules are introduced that, direct or indirectly, have been conditioning the trade activity, however disciplining it, however opening new markets and challenges.

The Lawyer activity must be pro-asset and answer globally, when we speak of:
Energy market: We all know that Europe entered in a new energetic age, capable of conciliating sustainable development, competitiveness and safety of procurement. The age of renewable/alternative energies.
Carbon market: Following the Conference of the Framework Convention on Climate Change, in 1997, the Kyoto Protocol, compelled 25 developed countries to limit or reduce their greenhouse gases emissions. The UE follows the n. º 2003/08/CE Directive. The CELE – European Business Emission Licences – was the first multi-state and multi-segment system of emission business. We are facing a new market, whose “well” is the carbon. The new approach in the mitigation of the GEE emission unchained a lot of market initiatives, carried out not only by regulation agents, as well as by others, which, not regulated, considered that there are opportunities of good-will or/and business.
It seems that society as found a new form of selling something that appeared to be infinitely gratuitous: the Air.
Environment responsibility: The use of the existing law as a instrument is also a way of protecting the environment. The civil responsibility institute is one good example which materializes the environment law principle pollute – payer.
However, it is unequivocal that the environment challenges emerging from the technological evolution, at each moment, launch new questions that are juridical complex, that transform the classical civil responsibility system inadequate. Conscious of this reality emerges the European Directive n. º 2004/35, which transposition to the national orders of the several UE member states must be concluded this year of 2007. A new approach imposes. These are small examples of the need of one juridical global answer to this new law discipline.
Therefore, is being created, under the proposal of Eurojuris Portugal, presented in May 2006 in Copenhagen, a new work group that aims at congregate all the layers that, in Eurojuris, dedicate specially to this law discipline.
With the conscious that, the layer of the XXI century, that dedicates himself to the Environment law, should remember that, in this area, the action must be local in order to produce global effects.

Ivone Rocha
( ivone.rocha@jpab.pt)