This Note examines the benefits of AI in the national security sector, the legal risks posed by unrestricted AI use that necessitate increased governance, and the current regulations in place for oversight. Additionally, it evaluates President Biden's National Security Memorandum on Artificial Intelligence, the first of its kind; critiques the Memorandum's shortcomings; and offers recommendations for improving the AI governance scheme to capitalize fully on AI's benefits while also protecting civil liberties. Finally, this Note addresses President Trump's actions to disassemble AI governance measures and walk back President Biden's first steps.

In March 2025, President Trump removed two FTC Commissioners without satisfying the statutory standard of inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office. The dismissed Commissioners sued, and the District Court for the District of Columbia granted summary judgment in their favor, holding that Humphrey's Executor remains binding. The D.C. Circuit denied the Government's emergency stay, and the Supreme Court granted certiorari.

The Supreme Court should uphold the FTC's for-cause removal protections. Under a functionalist reading consistent with Morrison v. Olson and Wiener v. United States, the FTC's structure does not meaningfully impede presidential supervision—the President already exercises substantial influence through appointment, designation of the Chair, and coordination with the Department of Justice. Overruling Humphrey's Executor would unsettle ninety years of administrative law and override the sustained political consensus underlying the modern independent agency.

This study investigates how municipal legislators frame climate mitigation and how these framings shift responsibility, narrow the perceived scope of municipal authority, and reduce the urgency or feasibility of local action. We analyzed 31 interviews with city councilors serving on Permanent Environmental Committees across municipalities in the Piracicaba, Capivari, and Jundiaí River Basins, one of Brazil's most industrialized and urbanized regions. The study makes two contributions. First, it extends the climate delay literature by showing how mitigation-relevant framings are articulated within local legislative arenas. We identify eight non-mutually exclusive discursive strategies with delay potential: invoking natural variability to dilute anthropogenic causation; questioning scientific consensus; fatalistic framings; emphasizing the socioeconomic downsides of mitigation; construing the municipality as a marginal emitter; individualizing responsibility; redirecting agency to executive branches and higher levels of government; and prioritizing non-transformative technological or market-centered responses. These strategies are often hybridized within single accounts, producing narratives that appear pragmatic and reasonable while lowering expectations for legislative engagement and stabilizing discursive boundaries around what counts as legitimate municipal mitigation. Second, it shows how environmental discursive traditions and the systematic analysis of discursive dimensions strengthen the critical analysis of delay discourses. The findings also point to practical interventions in local climate governance, including capacity-building efforts and the co-production of reflexive tools that can help expose and challenge discursive logics that displace responsibility and restrict policy by repertoires.

The Advisory Opinion on Obligations of States in Respect of Climate Change by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) breaks new ground by clearly identifying fossil fuel production, licensing and subsidisation among the activities to which international climate change obligations apply, going as far as suggesting that such activities may constitute internationally wrongful acts. In this article, we examine the proceedings in the context of fossil fuels and offer an in-depth analysis of the ICJ's Advisory Opinion's findings. We discuss the scientific and legal background that led to the inclusion of the topics of fossil fuel production and fossil fuel subsidies in the proceedings. We then systematically analyse the written and oral proceedings, setting out the diverging ways in which States and other participants addressed these topics. Finally, we assess the Court's reasoning, identifying its key findings in relation to the material scope of the questions, States' obligations and the legal consequences arising out of their breach. We conclude that while it may be too early to declare that international law requires the phase-out of fossil fuels, the Advisory Opinion will likely have implications for domestic and international litigation, putting fossil fuel-producing States and companies on notice. Moreover, the Advisory Opinion's clarifications related to fossil fuel production may indirectly influence intergovernmental processes, including the international climate regime.

Open space networks provide multiple ecosystem services and other benefits which are particularly important to urban regions. Accordingly, there are many examples around the world of urban-regional open space policies such as regional parks and green belts that connect non-built-up areas over several municipalities. Yet it is still unclear how and why this kind of policy can prevail in regional political decision-making against often strongly competing forms of land use. In this conceptual paper, we elaborate a theoretical approach to explain the adoption and implementation of the mentioned open space policies. Focusing on policy-making and planning processes, we use the well-established Multiple Streams Framework (MSF), originally developed by Kingdon, which has been subsequently refined and extended over the years. Drawing on relevant strands of literature, our paper applies the MSF to the field of open space policy-making and planning in conurbations. In line with our understanding of the framework, the likelihood of a significant policy being adopted and implemented in this policy field increases when three largely independent process streams (problem, policy and political) are coupled by a capable policy entrepreneur during a policy window, and this coupling is subsequently maintained. Our approach goes beyond Kingdon's original MSF by introducing an initial and an implementation phase to the analysis. At the same time, we integrate many process-related aspects of spatial and open space research into our MSF-based theoretical approach. The result is summarised in a set of seven propositions.

Land is fundamental to livelihoods and ecosystem health but faces mounting pressure from human activities, climate change, and competing development demands. Science–policy interfaces (SPIs)—platforms that connect experts and policymakers—are vital for co-producing knowledge to inform coherent, sustainable land-use governance. Yet, limited understanding exists of how global and national SPIs interact in Africa, particularly in Kenya, where biodiversity conservation, agricultural expansion, and other competing land uses generate complex trade-offs. This study examines how knowledge on land issues is co-produced and exchanged within Kenya's polycentric system and explores the influence of global and national SPIs on Kenyan land policies. Based on 25 semi-structured interviews with government officials, researchers, and global SPI authors, the study maps Kenya's SPI network on land issues and analyzes its interaction forms, influence, enablers, and barriers. Findings reveal an active but fragmented SPI landscape, where diverse expert organizations generate evidence, build capacity, and translate global assessments into locally relevant knowledge, influencing national and county policies on climate adaptation, agroecology, biodiversity, and sustainable land management. Formal mechanisms like multi-stakeholder platforms coexist with informal exchanges and personal networks that help bridge gaps in trust and institutional silos. However, uptake of global assessments remains limited, constrained by misaligned priorities, weak brokering, governance fragmentation, and evidence politicization. The paper recommends trust-based relationships between experts and technical government actors, enhancing brokering capacities, inclusive co-production with local communities, and better contextualization of global science. Kenya's devolved governance and local expertise offer promising polycentric pathways for coherent land-use governance.

This article analyses the intersection of these legal and economic issues, with a particular focus on the risks that arise from combining large volumes of personal and behavioural data following a merger. It adopts a doctrinal and comparative approach, examining legislation and regulatory practice in major jurisdictions. Drawing on high-profile mergers, such as Facebook/WhatsApp, Google/Fitbit, and Microsoft/LinkedIn, the article explains how the convergence of competition and data-related regulation has generated overlapping mandates and regulatory competition in data-driven mergers.

The analysis suggests that current merger review processes are poorly equipped to address the competitive implications of extensive data collection and are not fully aligned with emerging privacy regimes. This reveals a regulatory gap between the enforcement of competition and privacy rules, which can result in fragmented oversight and inconsistent outcomes.

The article highlights indicate that addressing these multidimensional risks requires the development of ex ante regulatory tools, the integration of data governance assessments into merger review, and enhanced inter-agency coordination. It concludes with policy recommendations to better align regulatory frameworks, strengthen compliance obligations for merging parties and support a more coherent structure for future data integrationin the technology industry, particularly in mergers and acquisitions involving fintech, telecommunications, and platform-based enterprises.

This article undertakes a historical excursus through the common law tradition, with a particular focus on English and Scottish law, to show that privacy is not merely an individual entitlement but a social construct shaped by institutions, space, and collective norms. By tracing privacy between ancient and modern poles, the paper argues that privacy requires us to act as guardians of both our collective and personal spheres, and to balance autonomy and dignity with social responsibility.

Malaysia and Indonesia initiated disputes before the World Trade Organization (WTO) challenging amendments that the EU made to its Biofuel Regime. These amendments form part of a broader legislative package designed to operationalise the EU's legally binding commitment to climate neutrality by 2050 under the European Green Deal. The resulting Palm Oil panel reports represent a significant moment in WTO jurisprudence, marking the organisation's first substantive engagement with measures adopted pursuant to the EU Green Deal; and, more broadly, with climate change regulation framed as trade-restrictive environmental policy. This article argues that the panel reports demonstrate a notable receptivity to the distinctive characteristics of climate change and climate governance. That receptivity is reflected in three key interpretative developments. First, the panels drew upon international climate law to establish a ‘sufficient nexus’ between the EU and the objective of limiting indirect land-use change (ILUC)-related greenhouse gas emissions, thereby accommodating the global nature of climate harm within WTO disciplines. Second, the panels adopted a ‘material contribution’ standard under Article 2.2 of the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Agreement), transplanting a concept traditionally associated with Article XX of the GATT 1994 into the TBT context. This move signals a greater openness to precautionary regulatory action in circumstances of scientific uncertainty. Third, in assessing the French TIRIB tax measure under the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (ASCM), the panels exhibited sensitivity to the climate-policy rationale underlying the measure, particularly in their selection of analytical benchmarks. This article asks whether the Palm Oil panel reports signal an emerging doctrinal accommodation of climate governance within WTO law, and, if so, what implications this has for future Green Deal measures. Taken together, these interpretative choices suggest an emerging judicial willingness within WTO dispute settlement to accommodate climate-oriented regulatory autonomy, provided that such measures are structured and administered in a manner that does not constitute arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination or a disguised restriction on international trade.

This article examines Arizona as a critical case of climate obstruction, where incumbent utilities and allied climate countermovement (CCM) actors have long constrained state-level climate and energy governance. The CCM is a coordinated network of corporations, think tanks, and other groups obstructing climate action across scales. While scholarship has examined CCM dynamics nationally, few studies probe subnational contexts where partisan contestation and institutional structures shape climate governance. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 37 key actors including policymakers, regulators, utility representatives, and advocacy leaders, the study uses Lukes' three-dimensional theory of power as an interpretive lens to examine how overt political influence, institutional agenda control, and ideological framing converge in Arizona's energy politics. Findings reveal how utilities and allied actors wield campaign finance, lobbying, and ballot spending (first dimension); exercise procedural gatekeeping and discursive pressure to exclude climate from agendas (second dimension); and deploy affordability and reliability narratives to delimit what is politically feasible (third dimension). Importantly, these dynamics are not merely imposed but normalized through institutional routines and long-standing assumptions, embedding obstruction within the fabric of governance itself. By situating these dynamics within a subnational political context, the study contributes to growing scholarship on how climate governance is shaped by institutional structures and coalitional influence at the state level.

The sound formation of robust environmental policies is increasingly important for low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) to achieve their national objectives and international commitments. However, policy implementation can be complex, and environmental policies may not be prioritised given other critical socio-economic development issues. Thus, although the formation of environmental policies is an important goal, effective and timely implementation is essential to ensure a policy achieves its desired outcomes. Existing studies frequently note that environmental policy implementation gaps exist, but synthesis of the evidence has so far been limited in LMIC contexts. As such, this review seeks to synthesise documented cases of environmental policy implementation gaps in LMICs, focusing on nationally directed policies. A total of 67 academic articles were reviewed, leading to the identification of five themes, which represent factors that contribute to policy implementation gaps. These relate to: the policy content; institutional arrangements and interactions; resource availability; engagement of non-governmental actors; and the political interests and dynamics. These factors are interrelated and interacting, and context dependent. Identifying these common causes of implementation gaps provides a foundation for future analysis, but also points to factors worthy of consideration when designing policies. Hence, this review is of value to academics, policymakers and other practitioners working on environmental policy issues in LMICs.

In many cases, addressing climate risks requires transformative climate adaptation (TCA) that goes beyond small adjustments to existing systems. While scholars increasingly argue that participatory governance is key and should embrace conflict rather than push for consensus to enable TCA, this assumption remains underexplored. Therefore, this study investigates how participatory governance deals with conflict to enable TCA, drawing on a historical analysis of the Dutch Hegewarren case—a co-creation process that led to the decision to transform an agricultural polder into a natural peatland. We find that conflict serves TCA indirectly. By allowing for conflict and taking political alternatives seriously, the co-creation process created the enabling conditions for TCA. Specifically, allowing disagreement within the process improved participants' perceptions of the legitimacy of the co-creation process and its outcomes. Simultaneously, the co-creation process reshaped the social and cognitive context, reducing distrust and reframing conflicts as participants' perspectives evolved through sustained interaction. Finally, our analysis highlights the unpredictable nature of transformative change. We consider this the “magic” of conflict: moments when new combinations of problems and solutions spark contestation, yet simultaneously generate the energy needed for continuous improvement in later phases and open opportunities for policy change. By illuminating how participatory governance can productively engage with conflict, this research contributes to a better understanding of the conditions under which TCA becomes possible.

This article examines the ICJ's interpretation of the Paris Agreement's core mitigation obligations to determine how, on what basis, and to what effect the ICJ disciplined national determination in the operation of the Paris Agreement. In so doing, it analyses the extent to which the ICJ's interpretation strengthens the legal character of the Paris Agreement's mitigation obligations. It argues that while the ICJ's interpretation strengthens the legal character of the Paris Agreement's mitigation obligations along some dimensions, notably normative content, language and precision, along the dimensions of oversight and review, national determination is still dominant, thus potentially diluting the operational impact of the ICJ's robust reframing of the Paris Agreement's mitigation obligations.

The EU and its Member States have been continuously striving for the liberalization of natural gas pricing, all while keeping protective mechanisms for certain end-customers, and more recently so after the 2022 energy crisis. Directive 2024/1788 comes as the latest framework in regards to natural gas pricing, and reflects a strong willingness from the EU at achieving this balance, which can be mistakenly interpreted as a re-regulation of natural gas prices.

As such, this article retraces the evolution of the pricing mechanisms among EU Member States before and after liberalization of their natural gas sectors via the Gas Directives. Incentives behind the progressive liberalization of natural gas pricing will also be exposed, all while delving into the subtle balance achieved by Directive 2024/1788 between competitive, dynamic market-based pricing and stable, protective tariffs.

After examining safeguards against electricity disconnection adopted during the liberalization process, the article turns to the energy transition, with an analysis of the Directive (EU) 2024/1171. Through a comparison of Italian and Irish systems, it highlights differing regulatory approaches among EU Countries, identifying common challenges as well as potential pathways for the electricity market in transition.

The global race to decarbonize will be won or lost not by technology alone, but by the strength of governance that directs it. While renewable energy has been widely promoted as a pathway to sustainable development, its effectiveness depends heavily on the institutional environment in which transitions unfold. This study examines how governance quality connects renewable energy adoption to multidimensional sustainability—spanning economic, social, and environmental outcomes—across BRICS and MENA economies from 1996 to 2022. Using cross-sectionally augmented autoregressive distributed lag (CS-ARDL) and panel quantile ARDL (PQARDL) models, the analysis captures both long-run dynamics and distributional asymmetries often overlooked in conventional approaches. Results show that renewable energy adoption alone yields modest sustainability gains; however, when reinforced by robust governance institutions, its effects are significantly amplified across all three dimensions. Comparisons reveal that BRICS countries benefit from stronger renewable-governance synergies, whereas MENA economies experience weaker outcomes due to institutional fragility and resource dependence. These findings underscore that governance is not an auxiliary factor but the missing link that ensures renewable energy transitions contribute meaningfully to sustainable development. By linking empirical evidence to the Sustainable Development Goals—particularly SDG 7 (clean energy), SDG 8 (inclusive growth), SDG 13 (climate action), and SDG 16 (strong institutions)—the study highlights the urgent need for integrated energy-governance strategies. Strengthening regulatory capacity, enhancing institutional accountability, and embedding transparency into renewable energy deployment are essential steps to make transitions in emerging economies both equitable and sustainable.

This case note analyses the General Court's ruling in ClientEarth and Collectif Nourrir v Commission, a landmark judgment on the European Commission's approval of the French Strategic Plan for the use of EU funds under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The Court held that the French Plan did not meet the CAP Strategic Plans Regulation's minimum requirements on crop rotation and annulled the Commission's decision to reject the NGOs' request for internal review of its approval decision. It is the first judgment in which civil society organisations successfully challenged an EU institution under the revised Aarhus Regulation on the basis of non-compliance with environmental law. The judgment is, however, ambivalent. While the Court ruled in favour of the NGOs on crop rotation, it rejected broader complaints on environmental and climate ambition because the Commission's powers of scrutiny over the Plan were limited. This note highlights two risks for effective environmental protection revealed by the court ruling. First, renationalisation can undermine environmental protection if not counterbalanced by sufficient Commission scrutiny powers. Unless the Commission is empowered to scrutinise whether the level of ambition is commensurate to the environmental and climate challenges, Member States have an incentive to set low environmental targets so that they can easily achieve them. Second, the judgment also underscores the limits of the siloed approach to environmental protection followed in the CAP Strategic Plans Regulation. Given that the environmental and climate architecture of the Plans remains distinct from socio-economic instruments, the latter risk undermining the former. Instead, it is argued that flexibility to adapt to national circumstances needs to be combined with sufficient Commission scrutiny powers and a clear EU-wide direction of travel on environmental protection across all CAP interventions. This would benefit both the environment and the maintenance of a level-playing field across EU Member States.

Achieving a balanced approach to sustainability in the Asia-Pacific requires the effective protection, preservation and equitable use of traditional knowledge. Despite recognised contributions to biodiversity conservation and climate adaptation, Indigenous worldviews and knowledge systems remain structurally excluded from statutory regimes. Fragmentation between intellectual property law, environmental regulation and Indigenous governance inhibits holistic protection, impeding broader ecologically and culturally sustainable outcomes. The article examines this legal disjuncture through a jurisdictional comparison of disconnection and coherence, with Australia and Vanuatu illustrating opposite ends of a regional governance spectrum. Australia's Patents Act 1990 (Cth) and Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) fail to protect First Nations knowledge or respect Indigenous epistemologies. In contrast, Pacific Island nations represent a regional bright spot. Vanuatu has developed inclusive, culturally grounded frameworks that embed customary law, Indigenous consent and benefit-sharing to protect Ni-Vanuatu knowledge. Drawing on international and regional instruments, including the recent Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and World Intellectual Property Organisation Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge, the article identifies emerging normative standards and persistent structural limitations. Comparative insights from Australia and Vanuatu support a reform agenda relevant to other settler-colonial and postcolonial contexts in the Asia-Pacific. Sustainability-aligned governance requires shifting from extractive, state-centric models to relational, pluralistic legal architectures. This includes harmonising intellectual property and environmental law, formally recognising customary systems and embedding Indigenous authority as a foundational pillar.

Sustainable and equitable governance of water resources is among the most pressing global challenges, emphasising the need for innovations towards transitions in the water sector. Innovations for stakeholder engagement can contribute to such transitions through public participation and cross-sectoral collaboration. However, stakeholder engagement has often been promoted as a panacea, assuming that the greater the engagement, the higher are the chances to improve governance. Important insights can be gained for water governance and transitions by understanding stakeholders' rationales for engagement, rather than solely focusing on the act of engagement. To this end, we applied a sustainability transition perspective to synthesise the empirical evidence on the traits of innovations for stakeholder engagement and to identify the indications that stakeholders follow normative, substantive, and instrumental rationales. Based on a systematic review of 61 publications, we show that innovations are characterised by multiple governance modes, with hierarchy as the most common mode and governments as a key actor often initiating stakeholder engagement. Regarding the rationales, a key indication that stakeholders follow a normative rationale is establishing power balance, whereas promoting the diversity of knowledge systems indicates a substantive rationale, and the instrumental rationale is manifested through process-related and institutional indications, covering resources such as information and time. Future research directions relate to longitudinal and in-depth case studies on stakeholder engagement innovations in diverse contexts. Finding congruency of meaning between stakeholders' disparate rationales is crucial for advancing innovations for engagement, which in turn can foster water transitions.

Drawing on extensive documentary analysis, this article traces the evolution of British energy policy support since World War II. It analyses shifts in policy design through two interpretive lenses: eligibility (residualist vs. universalist) and function (compensatory vs. preventive). While the UK was once a global leader in preventive, relatively broad-based energy efficiency investments, since the 1980s it has moved increasingly towards reactive, narrowly targeted schemes, mostly delivered through energy supplier obligations and providing means-tested relief. Moments of crisis, such as the oil shocks of the 1970s and the recent energy price surge, prompted temporary shifts to universalism, but such measures have proved short-lived. While successive governments emphasised the many co-benefits of energy efficiency schemes, they remain inconsistently implemented and underfunded. We argue that the persistence of residualist-compensatory models is driven by political, institutional, and ideational factors. To make sense of these developments, we introduce a typology of four models - residualist compensatory, residualist-preventive, universalist-compensatory, and universalist-preventive- which is used to map key policy shifts and assess their implications. We conclude by explaining that a transition towards a universalist-preventive approach must be grounded in a rights-based framework.

Environmental liability systems worldwide face mounting challenges addressing contamination from persistent chemicals, particularly when contamination spans decades and involves activities that were legal when performed. This article examines how the US and Sweden allocate responsibility for contaminated site remediation through their distinct legal frameworks. Using functional comparative methodology, the research analyses the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) against Sweden's Environmental Code, using PFAS contamination to demonstrate how each system addresses emerging persistent contaminants. Analysis of PFAS contamination reveals that CERCLA's rule-based system maximises private sector cost recovery through retroactive liability but generates substantial transaction costs, as evidenced by over 6400 litigation cases and billions in corporate reserves. Sweden's standards-based system provides contextual fairness through temporal boundaries and reasonableness assessments based on historical context, with landmark PFAS cases demonstrating judicial flexibility in addressing persistent contaminants while the system relies more heavily on public funding. The PFAS experience exposes limitations in both systems when addressing widespread contamination from substances whose environmental persistence and health effects were not understood until decades after deployment, demonstrating the need for adaptable frameworks that balance comprehensive cleanup with fair treatment of historical actors.

What is ‘sustainability law’ in the Asia-Pacific? The term now encompasses fields as varied as biodiversity governance, Indigenous knowledge protection, trade disputes, supply chain regulation, financial disclosure and digital traceability. Existing scholarship has traced the rise of these dispersed regulatory techniques, but less attention has been paid to their cumulative effect on how legal authority is organised across the region. This editorial argues that sustainability law is emerging not primarily as a new body of environmental doctrine but as a shift in how environmental objectives are pursued through law. Law increasingly operates upstream, embedding environmental objectives within the regimes that structure trade, finance, markets and information flows. In doing so, it reshapes where regulatory authority is exercised, how responsibility is distributed and which forms of knowledge acquire regulatory force. The contributions to this Special Issue examine how these dynamics unfold across the Asia-Pacific. They show that the distinctiveness of sustainability law lies not in the proliferation of new environmental rules, but in the sites and legal frameworks through which environmental outcomes are shaped before environmental law is formally engaged.

Small islands face complex governance challenges shaped by limited capacity, economic dependency, and spatial constraints. In Aruba—one of the world's most tourism-dependent economies—these pressures are intensified by a growth-centric tourism regime that shapes land use, institutional priorities, and public discourse. This article examines how environmental collectives—citizen-led groups engaged in protecting socio-ecological commons—navigate and contest this governance landscape. Drawing on sociological institutionalism and social innovation theory, we analyze how collectives engage with formal and informal governance processes in a structurally constrained context. Based on interviews and documentary sources, we trace their evolving strategies across governance episodes, including protests, stakeholder dialogues, and litigation. Despite limited institutional responsiveness, these groups have introduced new discourses, mobilized multi-scalar alliances, and catalyzed local engagement around environmental justice and participatory rights. We argue that environmental collectives act as agents of social innovation—not only resisting extractive development but also experimenting with alternative governance practices grounded in solidarity and place-based values. However, their influence remains circumscribed by opaque institutions, symbolic participation, and persistent tourism dominance. The article contributes to debates on environmental governance in small island states by illustrating the dual role of environmental collectives as both challengers and co-constructors of governance. It highlights the tensions and transformative potential of bottom-linked action in tourism-dominated systems, offering insights into the conditions under which citizen-led innovation may shape more just and sustainable governance trajectories.

Gas flaring is a common practice for burning excessive gas during oil and gas production. Flaring results in the release of various pollutants that contribute to climate change. In the Arctic, black carbon emissions released from flaring, in and near the region, contribute to local warming. This article seeks to increase knowledge on reducing black carbon emissions in the Arctic by examining national and subnational flaring regulatory frameworks in Norway, the US and Russia. Our findings show that national and subnational regulatory frameworks should be flexible regarding issuing gas flaring permits but also contain stringent compliance and enforcement mechanisms. This article's research outcomes highlight that national regulations should be adapted to specific oil and gas production conditions, such as the remoteness of production sites, along with the potential operator's limited access to advanced technology, infrastructure and financial resources. Subnational regulatory frameworks are important in addressing gaps in national regulation. However, the limited subnational regulatory authority may hinder the regulation's development and implementation.