Trade, Investment + Climate
In 2016, the Global Economic Governance Initiative at the GDP Center teamed with the Georgetown University Law Center’s Harrison Institute for Public Law to convene an interdisciplinary working group to examine the extent to which the World Trade Organization (WTO), free trade agreements (FTAs) and international investment agreements (IIAs) are compatible with climate change goals. The group found that the trading regime in general, and United States-led FTAs and IIAs in particular, are in tension with the goal of aggressively reducing greenhouse gas emissions and the policies necessary for achieving this goal. The working group identified two core areas where the current model is incompatible with aggressive climate action: (1) Trade and investment agreements tend to increases greenhouse gas emissions and (2) Trade and investment rules can undermine climate policies and impose limits on government regulatory authority.
The WTO made a promising start toward addressing the implications of trade rules for climate change in 2007 when it collaborated with the United Nations Environmental Programme on a study on trade and climate change which concluded, inter alia, that trade liberalization “most likely lead(s) to increased CO2 emissions.” Unfortunately, governments have done little to promote consistency between the trade regime and climate policy, and in some instances have actually taken aggressive steps to avoid any consideration of climate in trade negotiations. The United States, for example, eliminated references to climate change from the text of the TransPacific Partnership and does not consider climate change in its environmental reviews of trade agreements.
Research Highlight
Latest News & Publications
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GDP Center Round-up: Investor-State Dispute Settlement and the Energy Charter Treaty
April 03, 2024By Rachel Thrasher Pressure is building for European Union (EU) member states to execute a coordinated withdrawal from the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT). As of March... [ More ]
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Webinar Summary — Climate Technology and Intellectual Property: A Repeat of the Access to Medicines Debate or Something New?
March 18, 2024By Tim Hirschel-Burns On Wednesday, February 28, the Boston University Global Development Policy Center (GDP Center) and Centre for Policy Dialogue co-hosted an event at the... [ More ]
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GDP Center Round-up: 13th World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference, Abu Dhabi
February 15, 2024By Rachel Thrasher From February 26-29 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, member states of the World Trade Organization (WTO) will meet for the 13th Ministerial... [ More ]
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Submission to the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment: “Should the Interests of Foreign Investors Trump the Human Right to a Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment?”
November 06, 2023Editor’s Note: Below is an excerpt of input submitted by Kyla Tienhaara, Rachel Thrasher and Kevin P. Gallagher to the Office of the High Commissioner... [ More ]
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FAQs: What is Investor-State Dispute Settlement and What Does it Mean for Climate Action?
December 12, 2022By Rachel Thrasher A controversial legal process known as investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) threatens to hamper the ability of governments to mobilize finance for ambitious climate... [ More ]
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The Energy Charter Treaty’s Protection of 1.5°C-incompatible Oil and Gas Assets
June 20, 2022After several years of negotiations to “modernize” the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT), members must decide by June 24, 2022, whether to amend provisions of the... [ More ]
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Investor-State Disputes Threaten the Global Green Energy Transition
May 05, 2022If 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... [ More ]
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Room to Move: Building Flexibility into Investment Treaties to Meet Climate-Change Commitments
January 28, 2021Editor's note: This piece was originally published by the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment at Columbia University on Jan. 25, 2021. By Rachel Thrasher Science and society... [ More ]
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Assessing the Climate Impacts of U.S. Trade Agreements
May 28, 2018Meeting the ambitious goals of the Paris Agreement will require the United States and other major greenhouse gas (GHG) emitters to integrate climate change considerations... [ More ]
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Could Trade Treaties Trump Green Jobs? Upper and Lower Bounds on Clean-Energy Employment Under Varying Trade Policies
November 13, 2017A common argument for renewable energy is that it leads to job creation in the country or region where it is located. Yet this clean-energy... [ More ]