The Energy and Environmental Security Initiative at the University of Colorado at Boulder School of Law has unveiled an online global database of international energy treaties.
The database is called the International Sustainable Energy Assessment and contains in-force energy treaties from all 192 countries in the world dealing with 45 energy-related subject areas.
According to Lakshman Guruswamy, director of the Security Initiative and Nicholas Doman Professor of International Environmental Law, the genesis of the project "arose out of the recognition that the challenges in moving to a more sustainable global energy regime cannot be solved by any one nation and must entail international engagement and cooperation."
"This is an invaluable database," commented U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee who recently introduced the Energy Diplomacy and Security Act that would use new and existing international agreements to enhance energy security and promote the use of sustainable energy. "It will be a useful tool in our diplomatic efforts to chart a sustainable energy future with our international partners."
Development and research for the database was sponsored by the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership, a public-private partnership launched by the United Kingdom in 2002. The database covers a wide array of energy subjects including energy markets, electricity infrastructure, renewable energy, energy efficiency and hydrogen.
It took a team of researchers from the center more than a year to identify and analyze tens of thousands of international agreements before settling on the current database
At present, there are two versions: an internal, password-restricted version that contains all 1,700 agreements -- of which the United States is party to approximately 1,100 -- and a free public version located at lawweb.colorado.edu/eesi/ that contains about 500 agreements.
"The internal database is a kind of holding bin," said Kevin Doran, project manager and a research fellow at the law school. "After we've thoroughly researched and analyzed a treaty, we then pass it into the public database where anyone can access the information."
Doran said the goal is to have all 1,700 agreements available on the public site in the next six months.
Users of the public database are able to search for agreements using basic and advanced search options, said Doran, including a "subject-tree" that allows users to navigate to treaties dealing with a given subject area. For instance, by clicking on "Energy Efficiency" users are presented with links to treaties dealing with energy efficiency in buildings, industry, power generation and transportation.
Established in 2003, the Energy and Environmental Security Initiative is an interdisciplinary center located at the CU-Boulder School of Law. The fundamental mission of the center is to facilitate progress toward a global sustainable energy future through the innovative use of laws, policies and technology solutions.
For more information contact Doran at (303) 492-5127 or by e-mail at dorank@colorado.edu.