Anchoring the energy transition with legal certainty in EU law

Abstract

This article examines the principle of legal certainty in the context of low-carbon investment in the electricity sector. It analyses the interpretation and functions of legal certainty as a constitutional principle of EU law and explores how they operate in the low-carbon transition. The analysis is conducted in the context of conflicting roles of law in the energy transition. On the one hand, the low-carbon transition requires new investment, which demands stable and predictable legal frameworks. On the other hand, the energy transition calls for the continuous development of legal frameworks to respond to the evolving energy sector. This continuous change is detrimental to the investment needed to finance the transition. This article argues that the principle of legal certainty can function as a means of anchoring these evolving and sometimes turbulent legal developments and reconcile the conflicting roles of law required by the energy transition, on the one hand, and investment certainty, on the other.