Submission to the OECD Public Consultation on Possible Positive Contributions of Investment Agreements to Achieving Climate and Environmental Goals
IISD's contribution to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD's) consultation on aligning investment agreements with climate and environmental goals offers concrete reform proposals on investor transparency, responsible business conduct, and the removal of cross-border barriers to green investment.
Recommendations
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Reformed investment treaties could encourage greater transparency and accountability in the governance of investment projects.
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Reformed investment treaties could help articulate shared norms and principles that support the green transition.
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Reformed investment treaties could play a role in requiring responsible business conduct by foreign investors.
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Reformed investment treaties could facilitate forms of cross-border cooperation to unlock climate investment.
IISD's submission to the OECD's consultation on Possible Positive Contributions of Investment Agreements to Achieving Climate and Environmental Goals proposes practical options for how investment treaties can be reformed to address genuine cross-border obstacles as well as support climate and environmental goals.
The submission draws on IISD's ongoing research and insights from our consultation on rethinking investment treaties, which received more than 50 contributions from governments, international organizations, academia, the private sector, and civil society from various regions.
It also leverages the experience of participants of the Investment Policy Forum—the world's only summit of investment negotiators and policy-makers exclusively from developing countries, of which IISD has hosted 16 annual editions—and our ongoing work on energy investment governance and investment incentives reform.
The submission identifies several areas where a reformed investment treaty regime could contribute to advancing climate and environmental goals, including:
- encouraging greater transparency and accountability,
- articulating shared norms and principles,
- requiring responsible business conduct by foreign investors, and
- facilitating forms of cross-border cooperation that can unlock climate investment.
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