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Remarks by Kevin D. Mohr

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 March 2021

Kevin D. Mohr
Affiliation:
Partner, King & Spalding.
Gabriela Alvarez Avila
Affiliation:
Partner, Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle.
Carlos Solé
Affiliation:
Partner, Forensic – Economics & Regulation, KPMG Spain
Kasturi Das
Affiliation:
Professor of Economics, Institute of Management Technology, Ghaziabad, Delhi-NCR, India.

Extract

The title of our panel promises to explore whether investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) is a barrier, a facilitator, or neither regarding the global fight against climate change. This is an issue of urgent concern because there is a growing consensus that the world economy needs to transition away from fossil fuels aggressively to avoid the worst case climate scenarios, which would require a massive flow of investment out of fossil fuel production and into the production of renewable energy sources (RES). Broadly speaking, state policymakers have two sets of tools at their disposal to encourage that transition: (1) tools to encourage investment in RES (carrots); and (2) tools to discourage investment and hasten divestment in hydrocarbon production (sticks). One way to frame the question is whether the ISDS system—designed as it is to protect foreign investment in a largely policy-neutral way—acts more as a facilitator of carrot-side policies, more as a barrier to stick-side policies, or neither? Put somewhat differently, does a strong ISDS system that would facilitate RES investment necessarily cause regulatory chill of stick-side policies aimed at divestment from fossil fuels, or is there a way to harmonize these seemingly divergent goals?

Type
ISDS and Climate Change Policies: A Barrier, Facilitator, or Neither
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The American Society of International Law.

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Footnotes

This panel was convened at 10:15 a.m., Thursday, June 25, 2020, by its moderator Danielle Morris of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, who introduced the panelists: Kasturi Das of the Institute of Management Technology, Ghaziabad, Delhi-NCR, India; Gabriela Alvarez Avila of Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Cole & Mosle, S.C.; Carlos Solé, KPMG; and Kevin D. Mohr of King & Spaulding.