Sharing the Costs and Benefits of Energy and Resource Activity ─ Legal Change and Impact on Communities

A new phase is emerging in the relationship between energy and resource activities and the communities that are affected by them. Any energy or resource project - a mine, a wind farm, a dam for hydroelectricity, or a shale gas development - will involve a mix of impacts and benefits for communities. For many years, the law has mediated impacts on communities and provided for the distribution of financial benefits. Now, there is growing awareness of the need to consider not only a wider range of costs and benefits for communities from energy and resource projects, but also the effects on communities at multiple scales and in complex ways. Sharing the costs and benefits of natural resource activity has now become a legal requirement for energy and resource projects operating in many jurisdictions, particularly in developing countries.

This book uses cases studies from across the globe to examine the emergence of such legal measures, their advantages and disadvantages, and the improvements that may be feasible in the legal frameworks used to distribute the costs and benefits of energy and resources activity. The book has three parts: Part I considers general legal and conceptual frameworks; Part II addresses the mechanisms available to distribute costs and benefits; and Part III considers the role of public engagement and participation in the sharing of the costs and benefits from energy and resource projects.

Lila Barrera-Hernandez, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Law, University of Calgary,Barry Barton, Professor, School of Law, University of Waikato,Lee Godden, Professor of Law, Melbourne Law School, The University of Melbourne,Alastair Lucas, Professor of Law and Adjunct Professor of Environmental Science, University of Calgary,Anita Ronne, Associate Professor in Energy Law, Faculty of Law, University of Copenhagen

Lila Barrera-Hernandez is an international development consultant and Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Calgary, Canada.

Barry Barton is Professor of Law and Director of the Centre for Environmental, Resources and Energy Law at the University of Waikato, New Zealand.

Lee Godden is Director of the Centre for Resources, Energy and Environmental Law at the University of Melbourne, Australia

Alastair Lucas is Professor of Law at the University of Calgary, Canada.

Anita Ronne is Associate Professor in Energy Law at the University of Copenhagen and Chair of the Danish Energy Law Society, Denmark.