Getting the balance right? Applying legislation when seeking a balance between energy transition and conservation of cultural value
Studies within the project
Harsh Bhati examines how laws and policies balance heritage preservation with energy sustainability at UNESCO World Heritage sites. More about Harsh's research.
Charlotte Mårland explores how legislation and policy instruments balances cultural heritage values and energy efficiency demand in the Nordic countries. More about Charlotte's work.
About the project
The “Getting the Balance Right?” project is conducted in collaboration between the Department of Law and the Department of Art History at Uppsala University. This interdisciplinary project aims to explore how existing legislation balances the goals of sustainable energy use on the one hand and the conservation of cultural heritage values, on the other. Specifically, this concerns energy efficiency measures in historic buildings, such as insulation, window replacement, and solar panels.
Laws are applied and interpreted at three levels: within the court system, in administrative decisions, and in small and big decisions in planning, projection, and implementation of renovations. In addition, we will examine policy instruments such as the tax deduction for green technology, which plays an important role in incentivizing the public to make sustainable choices.
Harsh Vardhan Bhati
Harsh Vardhan Bhati is a doctoral candidate in environmental law at the Department of Law at Uppsala University and a member of the Graduate School in Sustainability Studies (GRASS) at Campus Gotland. His research investigates how conservation laws implementing the UNESCO World Heritage Convention and energy transition objectives under the Paris Agreement influence the balance between cultural heritage preservation and energy sustainability in World Heritage sites. This research focuses on the local application and implementation of these laws in World Heritage cities.
About Harsh
Harsh Vardhan Bhati is a lawyer specializing in environmental, natural resources, and energy law. He holds a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws with First Class Honours from Jindal Global Law School, India, and an LL.M. in Environmental, Natural Resources, and Energy Law from Lewis & Clark Law School, USA, where he received the Environmental Ambassador LL.M. Award. Harsh is a member of the Bar Council of India and has experience in public interest environmental litigation and advocacy in India. He has published articles and reports on environmental law and policy issues. His work also includes legal and social advocacy in Ecuador and the Brazilian Amazon Rainforest, with a specific focus on Indigenous land rights, community-based forest conservation and environmental justice. Before joining Uppsala University, he taught environmental law and statutory interpretation at Jindal Global Law School, O. P. Jindal Global University in India, and currently lectures in the Joint Nordic Master’s Programme in Environmental Law at Uppsala University.
Supervisors
- Yaffa Epstein, Department of Law
- Charlotta Zetterberg, Department of Law
- Mia Geijer, Department of Archaeology, Ancient History and Conservation
Harsh Vardhan Bhati
PhD student at Department of Law
Charlotte Mårland
Charlotte Mårland is a PhD candidate in Art history & Conservation, and is associated to GRASS (Graduate School in Sustainability Studies) at Campus Gotland. The PhD project focuses on how legislation and policy instruments balances cultural heritage values and energy efficiency demand in the Nordic countries.
About Charlotte
Charlotte works as a building conservationist at Jönköping County Museum and have an interdisciplinary background in Business, Art history and Cultural heritage studies.
Supervisors
- Britt-Inger Johansson, Department of Art history
- Mia Geijer, Department of Archaeology, Ancient History and Conservation (Conservation)
- Anna Karlström, Department of Archaeology, Ancient History and Conservation (Conservation)
- Yaffa Epstein, Department of Law
Charlotte Mårland
PhD student at the Department of Archaeology, Ancient History and Conservation (Conservation)