Introduction: Energy Law and the Sustainable Development Goals

This book addresses how governments can use host government instruments (HGIs) to advance The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). SDGs set out 17 ambitious goals for environmental sustainability, climate change solutions, economic development, and social transformation. SDGs include targets for governments, in partnership with private industry and communities, to improve access to affordable and reliable energy, reduce inequality, protect natural resources, combat climate change, promote resilient infrastructure, and investment in transparent legal institutions. HGIs are tools through which governments grant oil and gas companies permission to develop state-owned resources through licences, leases, service contracts, and production sharing agreements. In addition to bringing substantial resources into governments, these agreements often also include environmental commitments as well as employment opportunities, stakeholder engagement, and investment in economic development programmes. The different structures of HGIs and their precise terms and conditions are crucial determinants of the sustainability of oil and gas operations. This book addresses and explains how governments can use HGIs to advance the SDGs as well as the complexities of these relationships.