Associate Professor at Barry University School of Law
Virtual Zoom
Topic
Transnational Energy Law Regimes and Systems Dynamics: Calibrating Finance Mechanisms of the International Renewable Energy Agency and the Energy Charter Treaty
Abstract This chapter considers the transnational energy law regimes that have proliferated in response to climate change adaptation measures through the lens of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). While international treaties and agreements have formed the basis of energy law regimes, the growth of transnational intergovernmental organizations offers an additional dynamic beyond state actors in formation of energy governance systems. This chapter delves into the rise of green energy finance and renewable energy incentives for building better transnational energy systems and networks by understanding the functioning and finance mechanism put in place by IRENA and the Secretariat of the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT). IRENA as an intergovernmental organization and the ECT as an agreement are two ways to leverage capital to build more resilient energy systems. Considering the underlying mechanisms of these institutions provides a window to see how the idea of systems dynamics will be significant for building sustainable and reliable energy infrastructure worldwide. One of the key observations made is that when taking into account ongoing natural resource scarcity, high rates of joblessness, and market shocks, the transnational energy law regimes show promise in adapting to worsening climate change conditions and economic constraints. These variables can be understood through system dynamics, which is a part of systems theory, to understand and appreciate the dynamic approach to complex systems. Seeing the forces at play of systems dynamics in finance mechanisms shows how these relationships can build resiliency. Bio Nadia B. Ahmad is an Associate Professor at Barry University School of Law. Professor Ahmad’s research explores the intersections of energy siting, the environment, and sustainable development and draws on international investment law and corporate social responsibility. She has published over 30 scholarly articles and book chapters. In 2016, she was recognized by the Orlando Business Journal as a 40 Under 40 honoree for her leadership and community involvement.
Professor Ahmad was competitively selected twice to present at the Sabin Colloquium on Innovative Environmental Scholarship at Columbia Law School. She has presented her research on the law and policy of advanced biofuels in Abu Dhabi, Cairo, Cambridge, Doha, Denver, New York, and San Francisco. Prior to joining the Barry Law faculty, Professor Ahmad was the inaugural Visiting Assistant Professor of Environmental Law at Pace Law School. She also worked as a Legal Fellow with Sustainable Development Strategies Group on tax policy for natural resources, community development agreements, and mineral leasing rights for projects in Afghanistan, Mali, and Mozambique.
At the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment at Columbia University, she advised on offshore drilling laws for Sierra Leone. Professor Ahmad’s earlier experience included working for a multinational oil and gas company in the Denver-Julesburg Basin and in private law practice in Florida in the areas of land use, zoning, asset protection, and bad faith insurance litigation defense. Professor Ahmad earned an undergraduate degree in Comparative Literature with language emphases in Latin and English from the University of California at Berkeley with high honors.
Her undergraduate thesis examined representations of tradition and modernity in Indo-Anglian literature from 1947 to 1997. She completed her law degree (J.D.) from the University of Florida Levin College of Law, where she was a Virgil Hawkins Fellowship recipient. At UF Law, she served as executive editor of the Florida Journal of International Law and wrote about women’s property rights in Post-Partition South Asia. Later, she earned a master of laws (LL.M.) in Environmental and Natural Resources Law from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, where she explored the legal barriers for the deployment of advanced renewable technologies in the Global South and worked on the editorial review of the Journal of Energy & Natural Resources Law.
She currently serves as Vice Chair of the ABA Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice’s Environmental Justice Committee, which was presented with the 2016-2017 ABA Committee Excellence Award, and the ABA Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources' Superfund and Natural Resource Damages Litigation Committee. She is an official expert for multilateral development organization, International Bamboo and Rattan Organisation (INBAR) Taskforce on Bamboo for Renewable Energy (TFB4RE), which promotes environmentally sustainable development using bamboo and rattan.
She was previously Chair of the Younger Comparativists Committee’s Linkages and Engagement Advisory Group of the American Society of Comparative Law, Regional Chair of Mid-Florida for the Florida Muslim Bar Association, Chair of the Florida Bar’s Media and Communications Law Committee and a Board Member of the City and County of Denver’s Human Rights and Community Partnerships Advisory Board. Professor Ahmad is a member of the state bars of Florida and Colorado. Professor Ahmad’s most publications and working papers may be found on Social Science Research Network.
Publication
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=1885111
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