Santa Marta Pre-Conference | Investor-State Dispute Settlement and a Just Transition Away from Fossil Fuels

ISDS provisions included in many investment treaties effectively allow foreign investors to sue government policies, including climate and environmental legislation, through international arbitration. Fossil fuel investors file more ISDS claims than any other category of investor, using it as a tool to challenge climate policies across the world. In short, ISDS remains one of the most significant obstacles to ambitious climate action and a just transition away from fossil fuels.

This session, part of the Investor-State Dispute Settlement and a Just Transition Away from Fossil Fuels workstream of the Santa Marta Pre-Conference, will address the "imperative for states to address ISDS in the context of the transition away from fossil fuels and the need for collective action." Its core objectives are to:

• improve short-term recommendations and develop longer-term recommendations for governments;
• identify challenges and opportunities related to the recommendations, how to address them, and ways forward;
• identify research gaps and who will work on them. 

Luciana Ghiotto, Transnational Institute, and Melissa Blue Sky, Center for International Environmental Law, will facilitate the session. Lukas Schaugg will contribute to the sessions for IISD.