Conference programme

The panel will discuss an array of policies related to renewable energy and construction projects, including solar energy development in Malaysia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region, nuclear energy development in Europe, Chinese energy policies related to wind, solar and water power, transitions in Canadian energy development and changing energy policies under the Trump administration.

This session presents the latest book publication of the Academic Advisory Group of the SEERIL. The book explores tools and techniques for addressing legal, sustainability and contractual risks in design, financing, generation, transmission, distribution and consumption of distributed energy resources (DERs).

DERs including solar panels, community microgrids and residential battery storage are reshaping the energy landscape. DER technologies challenge the traditional centralized power model, offering greater potential for decarbonisation, decentralisation, digitisation and democratisation of electricity systems in line with the ongoing global energy transition.

With presentations from the expert contributors to the book, this session reflects on innovative legal drafting, contract negotiation and policymaking approaches needed to address the wide range of sustainability questions posed by DER design and implementation.

Despite growing scientific consensus on climate and environmental challenges and extensive regulatory developments in recent years, the implementation and enforcement of ESG accountability frameworks face significant headwinds globally. Companies operating cross-border projects confront conflicting ESG standards, extraterritorial regulations, and asymmetric enforcement regimes, whilst states grapple with the limits of traditional policy tools in driving meaningful corporate accountability. Simultaneously, ESG-related litigation is emerging as a powerful enforcement mechanism, with courts increasingly called upon to adjudicate climate obligations, supply chain due diligence failures, and greenwashing claims.

Against this background, this session explores ESG accountability from four complementary perspectives: international normative frameworks, state-level mechanisms, corporate obligations, and judicial enforcement.