Energy Conservation in the Light of Sustainable ‎Development Goals from the Perspective of National and ‎International Legal and Criminal Laws

The role of laws in extracting and consuming all kinds of energy resources in all fields is undeniable. Undoubtedly, the development and the economic, political, social, environmental and technical future of any country and the world, in general, are completely dependent on the presence or absence of energy. The unplanned and maximum consumption of non-renewable resources, in order to extract energy, has made the security of mankind face new crises, which is referred to as "the common concern of humanity", and some people even consider the perpetrators of these behaviors as "enemies of mankind". Therefore, legislators and executive bodies should take advantage of all available potentials, both legal and criminal, to protect energy resources in line with international policies, so that according to the ideals of sustainable development as a common global goal, the current and future generations can have access to sustainable energy sources in a fair manner. Currently, the lack of technical and executive infrastructures and effective and efficient executive guarantees, and the non-commitment of the enforcers and trustees to the established laws, as well as the lack of executive guidelines and the weakness of regulatory bodies, have caused the laws enacted in the field of energy to be ineffective. It goes without saying that the multiplicity of laws does not necessarily guarantee the operationalization of energy programs and the achievement of sustainable development goals, and the legislator must consider the ability to implement the laws before enacting the laws.This article has studied the domestic and international legal literature by using the descriptive-analytical research method and based on the hypothesis that the domestic laws are not compatible with the needs of the country and the modern world views in issues related to energy and the ideals of sustainable development. Due to these weaknesses, energy conservation is faced with many shortcomings in domestic laws and executive policies. To answer this question, what actions should be taken to protect energy and the rights of future generations? Some international documents and conventions in the field of energy, some of which are joined by Iran, have been briefly discussed. The implementation of these commitments and goals at the domestic level, especially in the construction industry, depends on correcting the old and wrong traditional policies, revising the current laws or establishing new laws that are appropriate to the existing conditions. Using lessons learned from other developed countries will definitely be useful and efficient.Iran's general policies related to energy are divided into two main groups: oil and gas general policies and general policies of other energy sources. However, the current domestic policy is mainly focused on the use of fossil resources, and there is little executive support for the use of renewable resources or clean energy. Currently, in the field of domestic energy law, responsibilities are generally defined in the realm of legal and civil responsibilities, and there is no specific criminalization for energy protection at the national level. The few currently defined crimes in the field of energy are also related to issues related to vandalism or creating restrictions on access to energy and destroying the environment and important issues such as unprincipled exploitation, waste of energy and protection of energy resources do not have a place in criminal policies. However, the international community is trying to introduce behaviors that are based on excessive consumption of fossil resources, assaulting the environment and the rights of future generations as the fifth crime of transnational crimes, as an example of the crime of "ecocide". Also, by examining the efforts of the world community to achieve the goals of sustainable development, it is concluded that the world community is moving in the direction that we will probably see the recognition of the crime of ecocide in the near future to protect the environment and future generations at the international level. Therefore, it is necessary to foresee reasonable and implementable measures in accordance with the existing capacities by the domestic legislator to reduce the use of fossil resources that are harmful to the environment and human health. In this regard, the use of nuclear energy is an outdated global policy, and one should think about using solar, wind, sea and geothermal energy and other potentials in the country.