OECD Working Papers on International Investment
Selected studies on international investment and investment policy prepared for use within the OECD. They address such issues as investment agreements, dispute settlement, fair and equitable treatment, most favored nation treatment, and corruption.
- ISSN: 18151957 (online)
- https://doi.org/10.1787/18151957
Environmental Concerns in International Investment Agreements
A Survey
International investment agreements define commitments on investment protection, but also shed light on how these commitments are to be integrated with other public policy objectives. Investment protection in the context of environmental regulation has been a frequent source of controversy and investor-state disputes. In order to enhance the factual basis for debate in this policy area, the present survey establishes a statistical portrait of governments’ investment treaty writing practices in relation to environmental concerns in a sample of 1,623 IIAs, roughly half of the global investment treaty population. The survey provides a statistical portrait of the extent, kind and frequency of treaty language referring to environmental concerns and the evolution of the use of such language over time. It shows that: i) over time, more treaties contain such language; ii) only about 8% of the sample treaties include references to environmental concerns; and iii) there are wide variations in the content of such language, both across countries and across time.
Keywords: bilateral investment treaty, foreign investment, international investment law, international investment, regulation
JEL:
Q56: Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics / Environmental Economics / Environment and Development; Environment and Trade; Sustainability; Environmental Accounts and Accounting; Environmental Equity; Population Growth;
F18: International Economics / Trade / Trade and Environment;
Q58: Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics / Environmental Economics / Environmental Economics: Government Policy;
N40: Economic History / Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation / Economic History: Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation: General, International, or Comparative;
F42: International Economics / Macroeconomic Aspects of International Trade and Finance / International Policy Coordination and Transmission;
N50: Economic History / Agriculture, Natural Resources, Environment, and Extractive Industries / Economic History: Agriculture, Natural Resources, Environment, and Extractive Industries: General, International, or Comparative;
K33: Law and Economics / Other Substantive Areas of Law / International Law;
F02: International Economics / General / International Economic Order and Integration;
F23: International Economics / International Factor Movements and International Business / Multinational Firms; International Business;
N70: Economic History / Transport, Trade, Energy, Technology, and Other Services / Economic History: Transport, International and Domestic Trade, Energy, Technology, and Other Services: General, International, or Comparative;
F21: International Economics / International Factor Movements and International Business / International Investment; Long-Term Capital Movements;
K32: Law and Economics / Other Substantive Areas of Law / Energy, Environmental, Health, and Safety Law;
F53: International Economics / International Relations, National Security, and International Political Economy / International Agreements and Observance; International Organizations
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