In November 2003, the Commission on Environmental Law (CEL) of IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) launched a new scholarly network of environmental law faculties and professors: the IUCN Academy of Environmental Law. The IUCN Academy is a consortium of specialized research centers in university law faculties throughout the world and as part of its mandate, identifies a significant topic of interregional research each year. The research focus for 2003 was 'The Law of Energy for Sustainable Development'. As research on energy law, at the international, regional, and national level is in its infancy, the insights provided by the contributors to Volume 1 are a significant addition to the field. Volume 2 assembles for the first time the legal instruments that are recognized as constituting the core of the law of energy for sustainable development.