Routledge Handbook Of Consumer Protection And Behaviour In Energy Markets

"The Routledge Handbook of Consumer Protection and Behaviour in Energy Markets provides a comprehensive study of consumer protection and consumer behaviour in selected jurisdictions worldwide. Each chapter is written by experts and provides a contemporary overview of national consumer protection and policy developments in the energy sector. Today energy has become an essential factor in ensuring the socio-economic development of any country and improving the quality of life of society and is now an essential element of life for everyone. The energy market has become a competitive market, based on the assumption that generation and sale of energy is not a natural monopoly and that market mechanisms, in particular competition between energy companies, are the best way to reduce prices and improve customer service. The purchase of energy is inextricably linked with its distribution from the producer to the purchaser. The book shows that well-functioning energy markets need informed and well protected consumers, who can benefit from competition and transparent offers. They are free to choose the most competitive providers, and know their rights, with access to effective means of redress. Given that the energy market has a specific, technical nature, the book analyses the energy market within the scope of free market principles, with a focus on the protection of the weaker party to the contract: the consumer. In addition, consumers can also play an active part of the clean energy transition. The book will be an essential reference for students, academics and policy makers"--

The Routledge Handbook of Consumer Protection and Behaviour in Energy Markets provides a comprehensive study of consumer protection and consumer behaviour in selected jurisdictions worldwide. Each chapter is written by experts and provides a contemporary overview of national consumer protection and policy developments in the energy sector. Today energy has become an essential factor in ensuring the socio-economic development of any country and improving the quality of life of society and is now an essential element of life for everyone. The energy market has become a competitive market, based on the assumption that generation and sale of energy is not a natural monopoly and that market mechanisms, in particular competition between energy companies, are the best way to reduce prices and improve customer service. The purchase of energy is inextricably linked with its distribution from the producer to the purchaser. The book shows that well-functioning energy markets need informed and well protected consumers, who can benefit from competition and transparent offers. They are free to choose the most competitive providers, and know their rights, with access to effective means of redress. Given that the energy market has a specific, technical nature, the book analyses the energy market within the scope of free market principles, with a focus on the protection of the weaker party to the contract: the consumer. In addition, consumers can also play an active part of the clean energy transition.

This book charts the difficulties encountered by vulnerable consumers in their access to justice, through the contributions of prominent authors (academic, practitioners and consultants) in the field of consumer law and access to justice. It demonstrates that despite the development of ADR, access to justice is still severely lacking for the vulnerable consumer. The book highlights that a broad understanding of access to justice, which encompasses good regulation and its public enforcement, is an essential ingredient alongside access to the mechanisms of traditional private justice (courts and ADR) to protect the vulnerable consumer. Indeed, many of the difficulties are linked to normative obstacles and lack of access to justice is primarily a vulnerability in itself that can exacerbate existing ones. In addition, because it may contribute to ‘pushing’ already vulnerable consumers into social exclusion it is not simply about economic justice but also about social justice. The book shows that lack of access to justice is not irreversible nor is it necessarily linked to consumer apathy. New technologies could provide solutions. The book concludes with a plea for developing ‘inclusive’ justice systems with more emphasis on public enforcement alongside effective courts systems to offer the vulnerable with adequate means to defend themselves. This book will be suitable for both students and practitioners, and all those with an interest in the justice system.

To date, there have been few theoretical inquiries into the relationship between the technological innovation and basic objectives of consumer protection laws. This book addresses this need by considering the impact of technological innovation on the foundations of consumer advocacy, contracting behaviour, control over intellectual capital and information privacy. The collection presents a unique and timely perspective on these issues. The authors, internationally renowned experts, from diverse areas such as consumer issues in technology markets, contract, and intellectual property provide a fresh perspective on these topics. Contributions provide novel approaches to the question of what consumer protection might consist of in the context of technological innovation. The book will be a valuable resource to academics and researchers in law and public policy and is easily accessible to graduate and undergraduate students working in these areas.

The Routledge Handbook of Private Law and Sustainability reflects on how the law can help tackle the current environmental challenges and make our societies more resilient to future crises. Sustainability has been high on the political agenda since the approval of the Sustainable Development Goals in 2015 and the EU Green Deal in 2019. The Green Agenda aims at making Europe the first climate‐neutral continent by 2050, but humanity persists in an ecological overshoot that puts at risk the survival of species, including that of our own. Drawing together a selection of leading thinkers in the field, this Handbook provides a curated overview of the most recent and relevant discussions for private lawyers related to environmental and sustainability concerns. The authors delve into case study examples from 20 countries in Europe and beyond and discuss a wide range of issues, including new property law and consumer law paradigms, the use of legal tech for promoting sustainable property management, strategies for fighting planned obsolescence, eco‐design, the servitisation economy, advances on corporate climate litigation and mandated green private sludges. Overall, the volume is designed to empower new generations of legal scholars to take an active role in the transition to a more sustainable future. It will also assist policymakers in producing better policy, through pinpointing the main legal issues that need to be addressed and offering a comparative overview of legal solutions and best practices. Divided into six key parts and overseen by a team of internationally recognised expert editors, this Handbook will be an essential resource for students, scholars, private lawyers and policymakers who wish to have a comprehensive, fundamental overview of how environmental sustainability concerns reflect on private law.

Energy consumption and production have major influences on the economy, environment, and society, but in return they are also influenced by how the economy is structured, how the social institutions work, and how the society deals with environmental degradation. The need for integrated assessment of the relationship between energy, economy, environment, and society is clear, and this handbook offers an in-depth review of all four pillars of the energy-economy-environment-society nexus. Bringing together contributions from all over the world, this handbook includes sections devoted to each of the four pillars. Moreover, as the financialization of commodity markets has made risk analysis more complicated and intriguing, the sections also cover energy commodity markets and their links to other financial and non-financial markets. In addition, econometric modeling and the forecasting of energy needs, as well as energy prices and volatilities, are also explored. Each part emphasizes the multidisciplinary nature of the energy economics field and from this perspective, chapters offer a review of models and methods used in the literature. The Routledge Handbook of Energy Economics will be of great interest to all those studying and researching in the area of energy economics. It offers guideline suggestions for policy makers as well as for future research.

With the built environment contributing almost half of global greenhouse emissions, there is a pressing need for the property and real estate discipline to thoroughly investigate sustainability concerns. The Routledge Handbook of Sustainable Real Estate brings together the latest research of leading academics globally, demonstrating the nature and extent of the impact as well as suggesting means of mitigating humankind's impact and building resilience. Four sections examine the different aspects of sustainable real estate: governance and policy valuation, investment and finance management redevelopment and adaptation. Covering all land uses from residential to commercial, retail and industrial, the Routledge Handbook of Sustainable Real Estate is an exciting mixture of received wisdom and emerging ideas and approaches from both the developed and developing world. Academics, upper-level students and researchers will find this book an essential guide to the very best of sustainable real estate research.

The low-carbon transition is ongoing everywhere. This Handbook, written by a group of senior and junior scholars from six continents and nineteen countries, explores the legal pathways of decarbonisation in the energy sector. What emerges is a composite picture. There are many roadblocks, but also a lot of legal innovation. The volume distils the legal knowledge which should help move forward the transition. Questions addressed include the differences between the decarbonization strategies of developed and developing countries, the pace of the transition, the management of multi-level governance systems, the pros and cons of different policy instruments, the planning of low-carbon infrastructures, the roles and meanings of energy justice. The Handbook can be drawn upon by legal scholars to compare decarbonisation pathways in several jurisdictions. Non-legal scholars can find information to be included in transition theories and decarbonization scenarios. Policymakers can discover contextual factors that should be taken into account when deciding how to support the transition.

This is the first handbook to provide a global policy perspective on energy, bringing together a diverse range of international energy issues in one volume. Maps the emerging field of global energy policy both for scholars and practitioners; the focus is on global issues, but it also explores the regional impact of international energy policies Accounts for the multi-faceted nature of global energy policy challenges and broadens discussions of these beyond the prevalent debates about oil supply Analyzes global energy policy challenges across the dimensions of markets, development, sustainability, and security, and identifies key global policy challenges for the future Comprises newly-commissioned research by an international team of scholars and energy policy practitioners