This book presents a conceptually expansive examination of how net zero commitments are reshaping the foundations of natural resources law. It makes an important contribution to debates concerning the legal implications of climate change and clean energy transition at the intersection of climate governance and energy policy. A major contribution of this book lies in its positioning of net zero as a triadic predicament encompassing sovereignty, security, and solidarity. The editors present a case that net zero aspirations are not exclusively scientific climate targets but policy commitments that challenge conventional principles on permanent sovereignty over natural resources (PSNR), security of supply, and fair distribution of resources. Across 22 chapters, contributors examine how these tensions shape energy governance, with particular attention to transition-related challenges, regional responses, and the implications for human rights, gender, environment, trade, and investment.

Pertaining to sovereignty, the book portrays how international climate commitments, including sustainable financing, are mounting constraints on states’ freedom to exploit natural resources. As a result of this reconfiguration of the PSNR principle, there is increased concern for economies of the Global South that still remain heavily dependent on fossil fuels. Some of the contributors have identified the risk of energy poverty and underdevelopment exacerbated by sudden divestments, stranded assets, and subsidy overhauls. They argue that these repercussions call into question the technocratic presuppositions ensconced in the mainstream decarbonization discourse. The book also provides insights into supply security, with contributors discussing the challenges concerning the growing demand for transition minerals. Case studies from different jurisdictions reveal how mineral extraction intensifies environmental harm, human rights abuses, and geopolitical competition. In this regard, the book stretches current literature on resource sovereignty and energy security by repositioning energy transition itself as a catalyst of systemic risk rather than an unqualified solution to fossil fuel dependence.

The emphasis on solidarity and distributive fairness further distinguishes the book. By highlighting social, environmental, and human rights ramifications of green energy projects, the book aligns with scholarship on energy justice and just transition. By advocating nexus governance approaches harmonizing energy, water, food, and environmental governance, the book underscores the shortcomings of the current fragmented regulatory frameworks. However, the analysis tends to remain abstract, providing minimal guidance on how these integrated governance models can be implemented in informal regulatory settings or during times of political instability. Likewise, while the book recognizes the frictions between climate measures and international economic law, it falls short of addressing how conflicts between net zero commitments and existing treaty obligations might be systematically reconciled. Nevertheless, this book is an important contribution to the broader literature that both illuminates and problematizes the legal foundations of the clean energy transition.