Dr. Ruven Fleming presents at St. Petersburg International Legal Forum on 'The balance between ecology and natural resources management – the case of shale gas in Europe´

On 18 May 2018 Assistant Professor in Energy Law, Dr. Ruven Fleming, presented findings from his latest book 'Shale Gas, the Environment and Energy Security' at the 2018 St. Petersburg International Legal Forum in St. Petersburg. Dr. Fleming had been invited by the Forum to give a guest lecture on the topic and has been hosted by the International and Comparative Law Research Centre.

The lecture picked up on the recent controversy about shale gas extraction in Europe and explained with the help of two examples – the Directive on Environmental Impact Assessment and the Directive on Environmental Liability – how the European legal framework is trying to strike a balance between environmental protection and energy security. Dr. Fleming presented his insights into the perceived shortcomings and suggested ways forward to remedy these shortcomings.

The Russian Federation is currently undergoing a revision of its environmental law framework. Shale gas and oil extraction in both Europe and Russia is at a very early stage and proposals are largely on hold at the moment. Dr. Fleming explained that this created a window of opportunity to put a prudent regulatory framework into place in the Russian Federation before re-bouncing oil and gas prices make shale gas and oil exploitation more attractive in Russia.

This article was published by the Faculty of Law.

• Read more news by the Faculty of Law.