The Role of Investment Treaties and Investor–State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) in Renewable Energy Investments

Achieving our global goals of universal access to clean energy and averting a climate crisis will require a mass scale-up of investments in renewable energy infrastructure, redirecting capital from carbon intensive energy and transport systems. The International Renewable Energy Agency estimates that the transformation of the energy system alone will need cumulative investments to reach USD 110 trillion by 2050 to keep the rise in global temperatures to well below 2°C and towards 1.5°C during this century. Of that amount, over 80% will need to be invested in renewables, energy efficiency, end-use electrification, and power grids and flexibility. The private sector and private finance will play an important role in scaling renewable energy generation, transmission, and storage. Much of this investment will be cross-border, as capital and technology must flow to developing and emerging economies to bridge the widening regional differences in the rate and amount of renewable energy investments. To help accelerate a shift of finance into renewable investments by foreign companies, it is critical to address the key constraints that hinder the scale-up of renewable investment, as well as the key determinants that would accelerate the necessary capital for a sustainable energy transition. Understanding these factors is a critical input to policy-making across a range of government agencies and functions, for development finance institutions, and for other international organizations

The Role of Investment Treaties and Investor–State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) in Renewable Energy Investments

In December 2022, CCSI published a report titled, The Role of Investment Treaties and Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) in Renewable Energy Investments. The report confirms decades of research that legal protections in investment treaties do not have a discernible impact on promoting foreign investment flows, including in renewables. In addition, investment treaties can be extraordinarily costly for states and for the broader policy objective of encouraging investment in renewables. Instead of focusing on investment treaties, developing countries should build or strengthen domestic legal frameworks that promote a mutually beneficial, long-term, flexible, and durable investment climate

Managing externalities in the WTO : the agreement on fisheries subsidies

By prohibiting subsidies that support illegal, unregulated or unreported fishing activities and contribute to unsustainable depletion of marine resources, the 2022 Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies (AFS) is the first WTO treaty to recognize that a specific trade policy instrument can have adverse consequences for the global commons. We assess the AFS as such, and through the lens of the broader challenge confronting WTO members in determining how to address subsidy spillovers and adapt trade policy rules to protect the global commons. While the AFS is a step forward for the WTO, definitions of what constitutes a subsidy and the approach taken to ensure transparency are those that have been part of the WTO since 1995 and have become cause for contestation and calls for reform. We suggest ways in which birth defects can be addressed in the course of implementing and expanding the coverage of the agreement

Scaling Investment in Renewable Energy Generation to Achieve Sustainable Development Goals 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) and 13 (Climate Action) and the Paris Agreement: Roadblocks and Drivers

The zero-carbon energy transition is the solution to the 2022 energy crisis and a fundamental part of the solution to the global climate crisis. Yet, there are relatively low levels of investment in renewable energy in developing countries, hindering their achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and contribution to the Paris Agreement goals. In 2021, the Asia–Pacific region (excluding China) accounted for less than 8% of investments in energy transition technologies, Latin America and the Caribbean for less than 4%, and Africa and the Middle East for less than 2%. Annual investment in zero-carbon energy in developing economies other than China has stagnated since the Paris Agreement was signed in 2015. To put the world on track to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, annual capital spending on zero-carbon energy in developing countries must increase by more than seven times, to more than USD 1 trillion, by the end of the 2020s. There is therefore an urgent need to address the drivers of public and private finance for investment in renewable electricity generation, network infrastructure, and end-use sectors to meet the Paris Agreement and two complementary SDGs: ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all (SDG 7); and taking urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts (SDG 13). This report sheds light on roadblocks to scaling up investments in renewables while distilling solutions from international experience and brings clarity to where international and national efforts should urgently be focused to address the deterrents of investment in renewables and enable zero-carbon energy security and prosperity

Scaling Investment in Renewable Energy: Roadblocks and Drivers – Executive Summary

The zero-carbon energy transition is the solution to the 2022 energy crisis and a fundamental part of the solution to the global climate crisis. Yet, there are relatively low levels of investment in renewable energy in developing countries, hindering their achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and contribution to the Paris Agreement goals. In 2021, the Asia–Pacific region (excluding China) accounted for less than 8% of investments in energy transition technologies, Latin America and the Caribbean for less than 4%, and Africa and the Middle East for less than 2%. Annual investment in zero-carbon energy in developing economies other than China has stagnated since the Paris Agreement was signed in 2015. To put the world on track to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, annual capital spending on zero-carbon energy in developing countries must increase by more than seven times, to more than USD 1 trillion, by the end of the 2020s

Scaling Investment in Renewable Energy Generation to Achieve Sustainable Development Goals 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) and 13 (Climate Action) and the Paris Agreement: Roadblocks and Drivers

In December 2022, CCSI published a report on the roadblocks and drivers of renewable energy investment. Distilling solutions from international experience, the report, "Scaling Investment in Renewable Energy Generation to Achieve Sustainable Development Goals 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) and 13 (Climate Action) and the Paris Agreement: Roadblocks and Drivers," clarifies where international and national efforts should be focused to address the deterrents of investment in renewables and enable zero-carbon energy security and prosperity in developing countries. This report not only identifies the main roadblocks to investment in renewables but also provides actionable recommendations that developing countries should take to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all, and to decarbonize their energy systems and economies, with a view to achieving the SDGs and the objectives of the Paris Agreement

Addressing the climate gap in digital technologies

Published online: 20 November 2023Key points • The critical issue of climate impacts has been largely overlooked in global discussions concerning the digital economy. • Cryptocurrency, in particular, is associated with staggering energy use statistics. In an average year, Bitcoin consumes more energy than Finland. • Difficulties regulating digital energy use stem from the non-centralised, possibly anonymised and/or non-proprietary structures and global nature of many digital operations. • Digital platforms have information about the usage of digital services that, if shared with policymakers and researchers, could facilitate the development of sustainable solutions for digital value chains and beyond • Policymakers must act to bridge sustainability policy and digital policy initiatives and ensure that policies reduce the environmental footprint stemming from life-cycle effects of digital technologies. • A key plank of such policy coordination should be the strengthening and mainstreaming of a principle of data minimization

Scaling Investment in Renewable Energy: Roadblocks and Drivers – Executive Summary

The zero-carbon energy transition is the solution to the 2022 energy crisis and a fundamental part of the solution to the global climate crisis. Yet, there are relatively low levels of investment in renewable energy in developing countries, hindering their achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and contribution to the Paris Agreement goals. In 2021, the Asia–Pacific region (excluding China) accounted for less than 8% of investments in energy transition technologies, Latin America and the Caribbean for less than 4%, and Africa and the Middle East for less than 2%. Annual investment in zero-carbon energy in developing economies other than China has stagnated since the Paris Agreement was signed in 2015. To put the world on track to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, annual capital spending on zero-carbon energy in developing countries must increase by more than seven times, to more than USD 1 trillion, by the end of the 2020s

Addressing the climate gap in digital technologies

The critical issue of climate impacts has been largely overlooked in global discussions concerning the digital economy.Cryptocurrency, in particular, is associated with staggering energy use statistics. In an average year, Bitcoin consumes more energy than Finland.Difficulties regulating digital energy use stem from the non-centralised, possibly anonymised and/or non-proprietary structures and global nature of many digital operations.Digital platforms have information about the usage of digital services that, if shared with policymakers and researchers, could facilitate the development of sustainable solutions for digital value chains and beyond.Policymakers must act to bridge sustainability policy and digital policy initiatives and ensure that policies reduce the environmental footprint stemming from life-cycle effects of digital technologies.A key plank of such policy coordination should be the strengthening and mainstreaming of a principle of data minimization.</p