JOINT SUBMISSION FROM THE CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL LAW (CIEL), THE INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABLE INVESTMENT (IISD), AND CLIENTEARTH ON THE CALL FOR INPUTS FROM THE SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE ENVIRONMENT

The joint submission by CIEL, IISD, and ClientEarth asserts that ISDS mechanisms create a 'regulatory chill' that hinders states from implementing climate and environmental policies. It highlights that while investment treaties have negligible effects on promoting foreign direct investment, they impose significant costs on states, particularly in the Global South, by allowing investors to challenge environmental regulations. The authors recommend the termination of old-generation treaties, the carving out of climate measures from ISDS scope, and a shift toward resolving disputes in domestic courts.

• ISDS cases frequently challenge environmental protections, with at least 175 treaty-based cases tied to environmental measures. These include disputes over the termination of mining concessions, bans on mining in protected areas, restrictions on oil and gas activities, and the phaseout of coal-fired power plants.
• The threat of ISDS arbitration acts as a powerful disincentive for states to enact environmental policies, a phenomenon known as regulatory chill. For example, Denmark and New Zealand have acknowledged that the threat of such lawsuits hindered their climate policy ambitions.
• Modernizing investment treaties by adding policy exceptions has proven largely ineffective because arbitral tribunals continue to rely on jurisprudence from older treaties. This was evidenced by the Eco Oro v. Colombia decision, where a tribunal ignored an environmental exception in the Colombia-Canada FTA, a clause present in at least 116 treaties signed after 2011.
• Treaty termination is currently the most effective way for states to reduce ISDS exposure. In the last five years, states have terminated at least 250 investment treaties, and since 2017, terminations have outnumbered new treaties entering into force. Notable examples include eight EU Member States withdrawing from the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) and the withdrawal of South Africa and Ecuador from the ICSID Convention.
• There is inconclusive evidence that investment treaties actually increase foreign direct investment (FDI), yet they create a system that effectively pays polluters rather than making them pay, contradicting the 'polluter pays principle'.
• ISDS mechanisms disproportionately burden low- and middle-income countries in the Global South, particularly fossil fuel-producing nations. The financial and legal risks associated with canceling projects to meet net-zero by 2040 goals can divert essential public funds away from climate mitigation and adaptation.

APA

International Institute for Sustainable Development (n.d.). JOINT SUBMISSION FROM THE CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL LAW (CIEL), THE INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABLE INVESTMENT (IISD), AND CLIENTEARTH ON THE CALL FOR INPUTS FROM THE SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE ENVIRONMENT. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2023-06/iisd-ciel-clientearth-isds-sustainable-enivronment-submission-2023.pdf

Chicago

International Institute for Sustainable Development. JOINT SUBMISSION FROM THE CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL LAW (CIEL), THE INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABLE INVESTMENT (IISD), AND CLIENTEARTH ON THE CALL FOR INPUTS FROM THE SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE ENVIRONMENT. n.d. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2023-06/iisd-ciel-clientearth-isds-sustainable-enivronment-submission-2023.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=International Institute for Sustainable Development |title=JOINT SUBMISSION FROM THE CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL LAW (CIEL), THE INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABLE INVESTMENT (IISD), AND CLIENTEARTH ON THE CALL FOR INPUTS FROM THE SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE ENVIRONMENT |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2023-06/iisd-ciel-clientearth-isds-sustainable-enivronment-submission-2023.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{internationalinstituteforsustainabledevelopmentndjoint, author = {{International Institute for Sustainable Development}}, title = {{JOINT SUBMISSION FROM THE CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL LAW (CIEL), THE INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABLE INVESTMENT (IISD), AND CLIENTEARTH ON THE CALL FOR INPUTS FROM THE SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE ENVIRONMENT}}, publisher = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2023-06/iisd-ciel-clientearth-isds-sustainable-enivronment-submission-2023.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }