This chapter examines corporate responsibilities and accountability to anticipate and redress human rights violations relating to the environment in their spheres of operations. After this introduction, section 2 examines the drivers and contours of the growing recognition of corporate accountability relating to environmental damage. Section 3 unpacks the key scope and content of emerging human rights obligations of corporations to protect the environment. These obligations are as follows: participation, accountability, non-discrimination and equality, empowerment and legality (the PANEL principles). By implementing the PANEL principles in the design, approval, finance and implementation of their operations and projects, business enterprises can proactively anticipate and tackle environmental risks across their entire business value chain. Section 4 highlights practical challenges that must be addressed by national authorities and business enterprises in order to fully translate these norms to reality. Section 5 is the concluding section.

This chapter examines legal and governance innovations for advancing gender equality in environmental decision-making processes in postcolonial Africa. First, it evaluates how inequitable colonial, cultural, legal, social, and power relationships continue to create interlocking structures of gender-based ecological vulnerabilities in Africa, paying specific attention to Nigeria as a case study. It then discusses the need for a human rights–based gender framework as a policy tool for addressing gender-based environmental inequalities in Africa.

Energy is inextricably linked to all aspects of human life: the ability to work, live, survive and execute tasks. Given the significance of energy to human life and the global economy, global energy markets are rapidly growing and have witnessed significant transformations over the last few decades. Technological innovation; the diversification of the main primary energy sources (conventional and unconventional oil and gas, coal, renewables, nuclear and solid minerals); rise in global primary energy demand; changes to established means of energy supply and distribution; geopolitical uncertainties; environmental pollution; climate change; sharp drop in the price of oil since 2014; outbreak of the novel Coronavirus Disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic; and the increasing demand for the equitable distribution of the benefits and risks of energy production amongst other things are rapidly transforming the field of energy law. Furthermore, important political changes such as United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union (Brexit); the rise of America-first policies in the United States under President Donald Trump; the abrupt diplomatic isolation and blockade of Qatar by several Gulf countries; as well as the global quest for low-carbon energy transition in alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have all resulted in fundamental shifts in domestic national energy policies.

This book set out to examine the values, assumptions and guiding principles that underpin the growing adoption of LCRs in global energy markets, as well as how questions of social exclusion, gender injustice, corruption, lack of transparency and inadequate stakeholder engagement in LCR formulation and implementation have been, and could be better, addressed. This final chapter reviews salient themes discussed and highlights directions for future action and research.

There are few regulatory measures and instruments that have divided opinion in global energy markets in the twenty-first century more than LCRs. Existing studies in the field have satisfactorily compiled the meaning, nature and scope of LCRs as a revolutionary and innovative regulatory measure that could unlock the competitiveness of the local economy, while allowing a country to strengthen its national industry and achieve other social benefits.

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region provides a good example of why it is essential to carefully measure and balance the policy aims of local content requirements (LCRs) with its practical and on the ground sustainable development outcomes. Despite the clear and uniform overall policy objectives of LCRs in the MENA region, the application and implementation of LCRs continue to face practical challenges that may ultimately hinder their overall contributions to sustainable development in resource rich countries of the region. This chapter examines how questions of limited availability of domestic resources and capacity, lack of local content legislation, conflict with international investment obligations, and inadequate data protection frameworks may hinder overall sustainable development contributions of LCRs in the region. This chapter discusses optimal legal strategies for balancing the policy aims of LCRs in MENA countries with overall practical sustainable development outcomes.

Nigeria offers a classic example of how lack of effective safeguards on anti-corruption, accountability, and transparency may hinder the sustainable development aims of local content policies. Based on the fundamental premise that petroleum resources, as well as its accruing benefits, belong to the Nigerian people, Nigeria has designed some of the most comprehensive local content laws and requirements (LCRs) in the world. However, in reality, the core precepts of Nigeria’s LCRs have not fully translated to increased economic and social benefits for Nigerian workers and industries, especially those in the oil producing communities.

This chapter evaluates the efficacy of the local content regime in Nigeria. It identifies legal, institutional, and practical challenges that hinder the full attainment of the intended sustainable development objectives of the Nigerian local content regime. These include corruption and lack of transparency in the monitoring of LCRs; unaddressed skills and capacity gaps of intended beneficiaries of LCRs; lack of financing for domestic companies; lack of coherent integration of Nigerian LCRs and national sustainable development plans; as well as gender inequalities in the oil and gas sector. The chapter then discusses a wide array of solutions that can help maximize the sustainable development potential of Nigerian LCRs. These reforms include the need to: implement anti-corruption and whistle blowing initiatives in the Nigerian oil and gas sector; improve the coherent enforcement of relevant laws providing for LCRs and sustainable development plans (SDPs); create specialized training schools for skills acquisition for Nigerians in the oil and gas industry to enhance local content; as well develop a sustainable roadmap for addressing gender gaps in the Nigerian oil and gas industry.

Sustainable aviation is often propounded as a pathway for promoting efficiency within the aviation sector, while reducing the emission of greenhouse gases from aircraft and other aviation facilities. Attaining sustainable aviation in practice requires large-scale investment in environmentally sound technologies (ESTs) that reduce pollution, use resources in a sustainable manner, utilize renewable sources of energy, and handle all residual waste in a more environmentally acceptable way. Most important are “cleaner” and energy-efficient aircraft, improved facilities for air traffic control and management, and alternative/renewable fuel options.

Current realities, however, show that the availability, affordability, and accessibility of new and cleaner technologies that could promote sustainable aviation remain a huge concern in many African countries. Transferring the requisite ESTs to Africa is often not the most straightforward endeavor. This is mainly due to legal, institutional, and bureaucratic hurdles that make the process challenging and daunting.

This chapter takes a look at the legal and institutional barriers to sustainable aviation in Africa. Drawing examples from Nigeria, South Africa, and Ethiopia, it discusses how legal and governance questions may continue to derail opportunities and efforts to facilitate the transfer of aviation technologies into Africa. Even though some of the legal barriers are preexisting and are not specific to aviation technologies, they must be addressed with respect to aviation, considering the large infrastructural development and technologies required for sustainable aviation projects.