Regulating Shale Gas: The Challenge of Coherent Environmental and Energy Regulation

Regulating Shale Gas discusses the regulatory context of shale gas in the European Union and draws conclusions on the EU's broader approach towards the regulation of new technologies.

Providing the first dedicated examination of the overall regulatory context of shale gas in the EU, Leonie Reins reveals how the EU's new constitutional setup after the Lisbon Treaty has complicated rather than facilitated the EU's quest for a common energy policy. Shale gas has already transformed the energy outlook in the United States, but despite high expectations, exploration has failed to take off fully in the EU.

This book investigates the reasons for this failure, as well as other related developments by highlighting the essential elements of coherent regulation of technologies, impacting both energy and environmental law. It further analyses other cross-cutting issues relating to the environmental and energy supply security challenges and offers insights into the regulation of the different sectors and the most topical developments.

The regulation of shale gas is set to become an increasingly important issue, receiving attention of energy and environmental legal scholars, politicians and industry worldwide. This book will also appeal to legal practitioners seeking expertise in the law and policy of shale gas extraction in the EU.