Climate Change and International Economic Law - Webinar 1: Climate Change in Treaty Negotiations: New Generation of Climate Commitments in Trade and Investment Accords

The past several years have witnessed signifi cant developments in the climate-related commitments incorporated in trade and investment accords. Such developments include but are not limited to, explicit commitments by parties to promote climate mitigation and adaptation-related investments, clean energy technologies, introducing specifi c carve-outs for climate measures, and treaty-based cooperation mechanisms. In contrast, little progress has been made regarding incorporating North-to-South fi nancial support commitments, delineating the scope and coverage of ‘green investment’, allowing climate-related performance requirements, or limiting the scope of fair and equitable treatment in investment protection arrangements. As more unilateral norm-setting (e.g. the EU CBAM, and the deforestation regulation) is foreseen to infl uence the economic relationship between developed and developing countries, fault lines may appear that may further fragment the interaction between climate change and international economic law. We seek to discuss the key emerging trends of climate-related economic commitments, their implication for developed and developing countries, and the potential pathways and principles towards a just economic transition based on mutual support, cooperation and fairness.

Welcome Address: Peter-Tobias Stoll

Panel Inputs (14:00 - 15:15)

• Markus Gehring (moderator): Opening Remarks: A New Generation of EU Trade and Sustainable Development Agreements – Lessons for Trade and Investment Law
• Nicolas Lockhart: Climate Change in International Trade Accords – Practitioner’s Perspective (tbc)
• Yilly Vanessa Pacheco: Anti-Deforestation Commitments in the EU Economic Partnership Agreements
• Marios Tokas: Integrating Climate Change Commitments in Trade and Investment Policy: Green trade and investment provisions in non-TSD chapters of FTAs and BITs

Expert Comments and Discussion (15:15-16:00)

• Thomas Cottier, World Trade Institute, University of Bern
• Clovis Freire, Division on International Trade and Commodities, UNCTAD & others

Participation is free, but prior registration is required.
Registration: https://uni-goettingen.zoom-x.de/meeting/register/u5IsdeGgrj0vGdG80W-tO9KBQCbz3rE-L6xm