Rachel Thrasher

This course explores the following question: To what extent do the international rules governing trade and investment constrain or facilitate countries in making and implementing climate commitments? Students will examine the history of how today’s trade and investment agreements and climate agreements have been formed and the underlying principles that shape them. They will become familiar with the texts of those treaties and how they have been interpreted in modern jurisprudence, including the most recent decisions by the International Court of Justice, the World Trade Organization’s Dispute Settlement Body, and investment dispute tribunals. They will also become familiar with how this system of treaties is intended to shape national-level policymaking, which, in turn, shapes the actions and behavior of private firms and individuals. The course includes topics such as (1) environmental disputes at the World Trade Organization, (2) investor-state dispute settlement targeting environmental and climate policies, (3) efforts at the bilateral, regional and mega-regional level to incorporate environmental commitments into free trade agreements, (4) unilateral efforts by the EU and the US to promote climate-friendly policy-making worldwide and (5) developing country perspectives in the "just transition" movement. By the end of the course, students will have a comprehensive understanding of the points of harmony and tension between these two regimes and will have thought critically and creatively about the ways forward. UPPER-CLASS WRITING REQUIREMENT: A limited number of students may use this class to satisfy the requirement with approval of the Vice Dean for Academic Affairs. ** A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar, or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, may be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who are on a wait list for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.