We are proud to present our new member of our Research Group Sustainability Law, King Men Teoh, doctoral research fellow in the UiO:Energy project EMPOWER: Sustainable Batteries in Mobility - (Em)powering a Net-zero Energy Transition.
The EMPOWER Project is an interdisciplinary project working with colleagues from the Department of Technology Systems, Psychology, Informatics, Mathematics, Education, and Private Law with the objective of answering the overarching research question: how can batteries used in mobility empower the transition to a net-zero system in Norway? Postdoctoral researcher Eléonore Maitre-Ekern, deputy head of the research group leads Work Package 4 dedicated to analysing the current regulatory framework and developing reform proposals for a sustainable circular battery framework. She is also the supervisor of King Men.
In this news piece, King Men introduces herself and shares her motivation for the project and aspirations for her doctoral journey.
What is your background and motivation to be part of the EMPOWER Project?
My biggest motivation to be part of the EMPOWER Project is my interest in sustainability, which stems in particular from my volunteer work. As a Project Officer at the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network – Youth, I explored the world of sustainability and gained deep insights into the importance of laws and policies in tackling climate change and building smart, fair, and sustainable cities. I also participated at the World Urban Forum 9 organised by UN-Habitat with parliamentarians, civil society, youth, philanthropies, academics, professionals, and other relevant stakeholders from different parts of the world to discuss urban policies, lessons learned, and effective implementation of the New Urban Agenda and UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). After attending and learning from global experts at the forum, I realised the importance of sustainability as encompassing challenges that the world is now facing. Across the three main dimensions: the economic, social and environmental, this includes crucial aspects such as inequalities, poverty, natural resource depletion, adverse impacts of environmental degradation, and the climate crisis.
With my legal background, I believe that policies and laws play a vital role in achieving the ambitious and transformative vision of the SDGs as we envisage a world in which every country enjoys good governance, free of poverty, with access to quality education, social protection, respect for human rights, sustainable energy; in essence, sustained, inclusive economic, social development and environmental protection. My aim is to contribute to and tackle the challenges the world is facing now by conducting research in these areas. Thus, after completing an LLM in International Law at the University of Oslo, I decided to apply for a PhD position and was overjoyed to get the position with EMPOWER.
Alongside my strong interest in sustainability, I often read and follow the commercial news of electric vehicles (EVs) and analyse how different EV manufacturers build their cars to achieve greater environmental standards. As there are many countries in the world that sets ambitious goals to address climate change by encouraging their citizens to switch to the use of EVs, I believe that this is a critical aspect to tackle the climate crisis and it is crucial that it is done in a way that contributes more broadly to sustainability. Hence, the EMPOWER project attracted me as it provided me with an exceptional opportunity to apply my interest in law, sustainability, and EVs to conduct research in sustainable batteries in mobility.
What is your thesis about?
Norway is the global leader in EVs by encouraging its citizens to switch to the use of EVs with green tax deals. However, are the laws that are currently regulating EV batteries, and their ownership in Norway and the EU sufficient and adequate to achieve sustainable EV batteries? And how could the law and policies further be improved in a sustainable circular economy and improve social and environmental standards throughout the lifecycle of EV batteries?
These are the challenging questions that I intend to answer in my doctoral thesis. Answering such questions is crucial to developing a strong and coherent regulatory framework for sustainable batteries in the net zero emissions target (the balance between the amount of greenhouse gas produced and the amount removed from the atmosphere).
It is thrilling to be part of the interdisciplinary EMPOWER project, where we work with scholars from six other disciplines, including psychology, materials and technologies, mathematics, anthropology, law, and education. As such, I am excited to be part of this journey to learn from different experts to develop specific legislative proposals for sustainable batteries in mobility.