CYIL vol. 13 (2022)

CYIL 13 ȍ2022Ȏ INTEGRATING CLIMATE CHANGE ELEMENTS INTO INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT… INTEGRATING CLIMATE CHANGE ELEMENTS INTO INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT TREATIES: DEFINITION OF ‘GREEN’ INVESTMENT Monika Feigerlová Abstract: Transitioning to a low-carbon and climate resilient economy will require significant investment, including private sources of capital. Ensuring that the investment assists the countries to achieve their decarbonisation and sustainable development goals is all the more important in times when countries face various social, pandemic and environmental challenges. The legal framework for foreign direct investment is primarily a matter of domestic policy. Nevertheless, international investment agreements could also play a positive role and push for climate resilient investments or investments that contribute to sustainable development. The contribution considers the potential reconceptualization of foreign direct investment towards ‘green investment’, the possible inspiration by the EU Taxonomy of ‘environmentally sustainable activities’ and the interconnectedness of green investment and the concept of sustainable development. Resumé: Přechod na nízkouhlíkové hospodářství odolné vůči změně klimatu bude vyžado vat značné investice, včetně soukromých zdrojů kapitálu. Správné nasměrování investic, tak aby přispívaly k dekarbonizaci a udržitelnému rozvoji, je o to důležitější v situaci, kdy země čelí sociálním, pandemickým a environmentálním krizím. Právní rámec pro přímé zahra niční investice je především záležitostí domácí politiky. Mezinárodní investiční dohody by nicméně také mohly hrát pozitivní roli a podporovat investice odolné vůči klimatu nebo investice, jež přispívají k udržitelnému rozvoji. Příspěvek se zabývá rekonceptualizací defi nice investice směrem k „zeleným investicím“, možnou inspirací klasifikací „environmen tálně udržitelných činností“ obsaženou v zelené taxonomii EU a vztahem zelených investic ke konceptu udržitelného rozvoje. Key words: climate change; green investment; EU Taxonomy; international investment agreements; Paris Agreement; sustainable development About the Author: JUDr. Monika Feigerlová, LL.M., PhD. , Institute of State and Law of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic, Attorney-at-Law. The research for this article has been supported/subsidized within the Lumina quaeruntur award of the Czech Academy of Sciences for the project “Climate law“ conducted at the Institute of State and Law. Introduction The threats posed by dangerous climate change and international commitments undertaken by the States under the Paris Agreement, which has a near universal participation, have led to an expansion of policies and laws addressing reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across a range of sectors at national and subnational levels. 1 According to the IPPC 1 The Paris Agreement is an international agreement that was adopted at the 21 st conference of the parties of the UNFCCC in Paris (COP 21) on 12 December 2015 and entered into force on 4 November 2016. Today 196 countries have signed it and about 10 less have ratified it. It deals with mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions, adaptation to climate change and finance issues. Its goal is to limit global warming to well below

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