PP317
Analítico de Periódico
BÖGER, Ole
A possible protocol to the Cape Town Convention on renewable energy equipment / Ole Böger
Uniform Law Review, Oxford, v.23 n.2 (2018), p.242-269
DIREITO INTERNACIONAL PRIVADO, DIREITO COMERCIAL INTERNACIONAL, UNIDROIT, CONVENÇÕES INTERNACIONAIS, EQUIPAMENTO, ENERGIAS RENOVÁVEIS
The lnternational lnstitute for the Unification of Private Law is currently considering the feasibility of a possible Protocol to the Convention on lnternational lnterests in Mobile Equipment (Cape Town Convention) on matters specific to renewable energy equipment. The protection of the world climate requires global cooperation. A switch from fossil energy resources to the increased generation of energy from renewable resources can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but meeting the worldwide targets for an increased market share for renewables requires an enormous investment in renewable energy equipment. The secured transactions regime of the Cape Town Convention system whose strong protection of the secured creditor allows a reduction in borrowing costs for the financing of high-value equipment could facilitate such financing. Even though renewable energy equipment such as wind turbines, solar panels, and other assets used in hydropower, geothermal, or biomass projects, is typically stationary and differs from the types of high-value mobile assets covered by the Cape Town Convention system far, the general principles of this system are flexible enough to allow its extension to renewable energy equipment in general. Different categories of renewable energy equipment, however, are subject to different financing practices, and the legal issues they face are not identical, the strongest demand for a Protocol on renewable energy equipment would certainly be in the area of offshore wind energy equipment. In the interests of the viability of such a Protocol as an international instrument, other categories of renewable energy equipment should be included as well, but this requires a thorough assessment of whether these potentially involve conflicts between the rights of different secured creditors that could be solved under the rules of the Cape Town Convention and whether financing practices in project finance transactions could benefit from the availability of an additional security interest under international law.