At the end of October, our PhD candidate, Daopu Somoni, participated in the ‘Subsurface Futures: Extractives, Critical Minerals, and Decarbonization’symposium, organised by the University of Wyoming, United States.
Daopu presented his paper on ‘Just-Transitions in Fossil Fuel-Dependent Emerging Economies: Legal and Policy Frameworks to Enhance Subsurface Utilisation for CO2 Storage’ under the broader theme: Justice, Knowledge, and Rights in the Subsurface - where he examined the interrelationship between social contract and subsurface utilisation for CO2 Storage. His work examined the role of CCUS in the narratives of Just Transition, particularly in developing economies dependent on fossil fuels, with Nigeria as the main case studies.
Daopu also actively participated in the rest of the symposium. On day 1, participants explored the spatial-legal relationships that apply to the subsurface and the potential evolution of such frameworks as a tool for the just transformation of the energy sector. In two panels sessions, intervenors interrogated issues relating to the legacies of the subsurface and regional approaches to resource acquisition. On day 2, in three panel sessions, participants presented on issues around; justice, knowledge, and rights in the subsurface; co-production and permanence: governance of the subsurface across time scales; and new frameworks for subsurface governance.
The next phase of the project is synthesising of the symposium outcomes into a manuscript. In that regard, Daopu will be working with Prof. Tara Righetti, (Occidental Chair of Energy and Environmental Policies, co-Director of the Nuclear Energy Research Center, and Director, Jurisprudence of Underground Law & Center group, University of Wyoming); and Louis de Fontenelle,(Associate Professor in Public Law, Director of the European Research Platform on Energy and Climate Law, TREE, University of Pau and Pays de l’Adour, CNRS). Daopu expresses gratitude for the insightful feedback on my draft paper from Prof John Paterson (Chair In Law, University of Aberdeen) and Dr Daria Shapovalova (Director, Aberdeen University Center for Energy Law (AUCEL).