Establishing a center for legal research on the ocean and the green transition
The Faculty of Law at the University of Bergen has established the COAST Law Center—a research center for climate, energy, and sustainability law, thematically focused on climate, the ocean, the marine environment, and maritime activities.
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“With the COAST Law Center, we are bringing together a leading research environment on legal frameworks for issues arising in the context of the green transition. Our ambition is to have a clear profile that contributes to sustainable development in the region, while also positioning ourselves internationally through our research” says center leader Ignacio Herrera Anchustegui.
The center will continue and further develop the work of the faculty’s research group for climate, energy, and environmental law, and the group’s members will be affiliated with the center. Students are also welcome to contribute to the center’s activities.
Balancing the local and the global
“Activities along the coast and in Norwegian waters, such as the North Sea, will be an important area of focus, but we will also work with international waters and conduct comparative analyses with other countries. This includes aspects related to environmental law and nature preservation, industrial activity such as offshore energy, land and sea planning, as well as business models and private law regulation,” says Professor Herrera Anchustegui, adding:
“COAST will also aim to balance local, regional, national, European and global aspects as they are, like our oceans, interrelated”.
The goal is for the center to become an interdisciplinary meeting place for researchers and other partners both at the University of Bergen and across Northern Europe.
Key legal issues
Researchers and students affiliated with the center will work on a range of current legal issues, including:
- Administrative law with a focus on environmental law and spatial planning, both on land and at sea
- Energy law with an emphasis on sustainable resource use and infrastructure
- Private law, particularly contract law with a focus on sustainability, and corporate law
- Energy markets and the business sector’s capacity for transformation in the green shift
- Marine and maritime law with emphasis on fisheries, vessels, circularity, decommissioning, and recycling
“The demand for legal knowledge in interdisciplinary research projects, and for knowledge collaboration with industry and the public sector, has increased significantly in recent years,” says Herrera Anchustegui—pointing out that since 2019, the research group has held coordinator or partner roles in a wide range of projects (see a selection of projects in the fact box).
He believes that the establishment of COAST Law Center will further help meet this need by strengthening the legal knowledge frontier and supporting independent legal research in these fields.
Law must be ahead of the curve
Professor Ignacio Herrera Anchustegui has long emphasized the importance of having sound governance frameworks in place ahead of major political and technological shifts. He argues that the law must be ahead of the curve in the green transition, rather than being brought in after innovations have already emerged and policymakers are pressed for time.
In addition to contributing to public discourse, the professor of law believes that the business sector’s crucial role in sustainable development means that greater emphasis must be placed on interaction with market structures and private law aspects in the years to come.
“The creation of rules and the adoption of standards do not occur solely within government and the public sector, but to a large extent also within the business community and private sector—often in collaboration with public authorities,” he says.
Important contributions to society
Dean Karl Harald Søvig of the Faculty of Law believes it is essential to have a center dedicated to researching the legal frameworks related to the ocean, climate, and energy transition. Few people realize how important legislation and enforcement are in these areas.
He praises the research group behind the center for their high level of activity. The academic environment has made important contributions to society, which have also expanded their national and international networks. They have collaborated with various academic communities, both within and outside the University of Bergen, as well as with different sectors.
“At the COAST Law Center, we will see both independent basic research and applied research, within both public and private law. The center’s researchers and areas of expertise will be natural partners for interdisciplinary research projects, the business sector, and the public. In addition, the center will significantly contribute to both the faculty’s and the university’s strategic focus areas, as well as to the collaboration within Ocean City Bergen (Havbyen Bergen (external link)),” says Søvig.
Senior Adviser Ingrid Birce Müftüoglu at the Faculty of Law has worked closely with the center leader and the academic community in developing COAST Law Center. She says that with the new organization of the research group into a center, everything is in place to strengthen its activities.
“A professional and administrative leadership structure, clear frameworks for project development and operations, recruitment and mentoring of early-career researchers, as well as strategic positioning nationally and internationally, will provide greater capacity to further develop legal perspectives in this important field,” says Müftüoglu, encouraging potential partners—and others interested in the center’s work—to get in touch.