This study examines the position of renewable energy within the framework of international law, with particular emphasis on its historical evolution and its role in addressing global environmental challenges, especially climate change. It demonstrates how renewable energy has shifted from a relatively peripheral issue within environmental law to a central component of the contemporary international legal order, driven by escalating environmental risks and the growing need for organized international cooperation.
The study also traces the historical trajectory of this field, beginning with the 1972 Stockholm Conference, followed by the 1987 Brundtland Report and the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, and culminating in the 2015 Paris Agreement, which marked a qualitative shift in global climate governance. The Agreement established a new legal framework based on Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), aimed at limiting global temperature rise and promoting the transition toward renewable energy.
The research further analyzes key implementation mechanisms, including transparency, climate finance, technology transfer, and the Global Stocktake, highlighting their contribution to the energy transition. At the same time, it identifies a set of structural challenges that constrain their effectiveness, most notably weak legal enforceability, economic and technological disparities between states, inadequate financing, and inconsistent political will.
The study concludes that international law provides an important regulatory framework for supporting the transition toward renewable energy; however, its practical effectiveness remains contingent upon stronger international cooperation, more efficient implementation mechanisms, and a fairer distribution of responsibilities and resources between developed and developing countries.