At the 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) in June 2022, trade ministers representing the 164 member countries of the World Trade Organization (WTO) met for the first time in four years amid an ongoing global pandemic and geopolitical forces that threaten to pull the global economy into separate blocs. A new policy brief by Sandra Polaski, […]
After several years of negotiations to “modernize” the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT), members must decide by June 24, 2022, whether to amend provisions of the treaty, leave it as is or withdraw from it entirely. The ECT is the only international investment treaty with a sectoral focus on energy. It has been ratified by 50 […]
By Samantha Igo Decisive climate action to cut carbon emissions within the next few years will be essential for decreasing the odds of breaching the 1.5C threshold of global warming. However, as governments prepare for complex energy transitions, actions to halt oil and gas production – like cancelling pipelines or drilling permits – could be […]
By Rishikesh Ram Bhandary From June 6-16, climate negotiators will meet in Bonn, Germany for two weeks for the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change intersessional meeting. Negotiators will focus on laying the groundwork to increase climate ambition and hammering out details to further buttress the Paris Agreement on climate change. The meeting, however, […]
By Rachel Thrasher, Veronika Wirtz and Warren Kaplan At the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) 12th Ministerial Conference from June 12-15 in Geneva, Switzerland, trade ministers and other senior officials will gather to discuss the future of the international trading system. Many members view this long-delayed conference as a sign of whether the WTO as an […]
By Rachel Thrasher The latest report from the UN International Panel on Climate Change has made clear that this decade is make-or-break for climate action and mitigating the worst-case scenarios of a warming earth. Crucial to keeping warming below the 1.5C threshold by 2100, countries must focus on phasing out both demand and supply for […]
If global warming is to be kept below 1.5C, states need to rapidly phase out fossil fuels. But government efforts to limit fossil fuels, such as cancelling pipelines and denying drilling permits, will impact asset holders and demands for compensation will ensue. When assets are protected by international investment treaties, legal claims can be brought […]
By Md. Deen Islam and Rachel Thrasher In November 2021, the United Nations approved Bangladesh to graduate from Least Developed Country (LDC) status by 2026. An LDC graduation reflects a country’s economic strength and resilience to various types of financial and climate shocks and highlights the extent of economic and social progress achieved by the […]
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic triggered a sudden reversal in global capital flows, compounding the fallout from the pandemic for emerging market and developing economies. Between mid-January and mid-March 2020 alone, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) estimated outflows from these countries at $103 billion. The consequences of such sudden stops or […]
By Samantha Igo After two years of severe economic stress from the COVID-19 pandemic, economies are just beginning to recover as international leaders make use of a variety of policy tools. However, capital flow management measures (CFMs), a key tool that could support economic recovery, remain out of reach for many. In 2012, the International […]