The University of Eastern Finland (UEF) Law School in cooperation with the UEF Center for Climate Change, Energy and Environmental Law (CCEEL) is pleased to announce the call for papers for its 6th international energy law and policy conference “ENERGY TRANSITIONS 2020”. The event will take place on 27 and 28 February 2020 in Joensuu, Finland.

The theme for the Energy Transitions 2020 conference is ‘Achieving Just Energy Transitions through Law and Policy: Challenges and Solutions’. Under this overarching theme, papers dealing with the following sub-themes are invited for discussions during the conference.

Sub-themes:

• International investment dispute settlement and energy investments
• International LNG value chains: Current and future developments
• International trade of energy products and multilateral, regional and mega-regional trade agreements
• Global developments in the oil, gas and power sectors
• The “Clean Energy for all Europeans” package and its implications for EU energy law and policy
• Introducing flexibility: Energy storage, demand-side management and the role of consumers in the energy transition
• The regulation of renewable and low-carbon energy sources
• Assessing the EU’s 2030 Climate and Energy Policy Framework
• Subsidies to renewable energy and fossil fuels

Keynote speakers:
• Rafael Leal-Arcas, Professor of European and International Economic Law, Queen Mary University of London.
Topic: Making use of mega-RTAs for sustainable energy

• Michael Polkinghorne, Partner at White & Case.
Topic: The winds of change: the Energy Charter Treaty in the face of global energy transitions

• Benjamin Sovacool, Professor of Energy Policy at the Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU) at the School of Business, Management, University of Sussex.
Topic: Accelerating energy and low-carbon transitions

Guide for authors:
An abstract should be submitted by the deadline date. The abstract must contain the title, name(s) of the author(s), institutional affiliation and contact details. Body/text of the abstract should not exceed 200 words.
Full papers are to be submitted by the submission deadline date. Full papers must also include abstracts. Length of full papers should be in the range of 4 000 to 7 000 words.

Submission:
Both the abstracts and the papers should be sent to energytransitions2020@uef.fi.
Submissions are to be added as an attachment with the title of the abstract/paper in the subject line of the email.

Publication opportunity:
Our publishing partner, Oil, Gas & Energy Law (OGEL: www.ogel.org) has agreed to publish a special issue for the event proceedings under the title ‘Just Energy Transitions’.
After the event, authors of accepted full papers will be invited to submit a revised version of their papers for possible publication following a peer review process and acceptance by the journal.

Important Dates:
Deadline for submission of abstracts: 10 October 2019
Notification of acceptance: 31 October 2019
Deadline for final paper submission: 31 January 2020
Conference dates: 27-28.2.2020
Social trip to Koli National Park: 28.2-1.3.2020


Venue:
UEF Law School, University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu Campus, Yliopistokatu 2, FI-80101 Joensuu, Finland.

Social programme:
After the event, there is a possibility to spend the weekend (29 February and 1 March) at a ski and spa resort at Koli National Park.
More information available at https://www.nationalparks.fi/kolinp. Transportation provided by the organiser. Spouses welcome.
Registration & cost:
Thanks to the kind support of our sponsors, the participation in this conference is free of charge. Free participation entails free attendance for all to the conference and free lunch & coffee for all conference presenters.

Accommodation:
Important notice! The cost of accommodation during the conference and the social trip to Koli National Park is the responsibility of attendees.
The organisers have however arranged special discounts prices for participants with our hotel partners; Hotel GreenStar in Joensuu and Break Sokos Hotel at Koli National Park.
More info on accommodation to come soon.

Visa:
Conference presenters who may require a visa to enter Finland and will therefore need an invitation letter from the event organisers, are to request for such a letter immediately after they have been notified of the acceptance of their abstract/paper.

Help:
For enquiries regarding the ‘Energy Transitions 2020’, please send an email to enquiries.energytransitions@uef.fi. Alternatively, you can contact Nana Asare Obeng-Darko at nana.asare.obeng-darko@uef.fi