Net zero transition and resource sovereignty: Emerging trends and changing landscape

This chapter assesses the potential impacts of the net zero transition goal for developing, managing, and controlling natural resources. This includes a discussion of the legal dimensions of sovereignty risks and trends, such as stranded assets, divestments, bankruptcies, resource nationalism, procurement, and supply chain challenges that are emerging as a result of net zero and the clean energy transition. Managing such resource sovereignty risks requires systemic and holistic resource management approaches that reduce hydrocarbon dependencies. Other important legal innovations explored include addressing legal barriers to economic and energy diversification; improving the governance of critical minerals; addressing legal barriers to wide-scale clean technology entrepreneurship; and integrating net zero considerations into regional and domestic investments, trade instruments, and policies.