Document Type
Report/Policy Paper
Publication Date
2-2024
Abstract
Alongside preparing for climate change, Africa should invest in the zero-carbon future, avoiding locking itself into the declining fossil fuel–based economy while taking advantage of the opportunities presented by decarbonization. However, investment treaties and investor–state dispute settlement (ISDS) hinder, rather than catalyze, the transition to climate-friendly investment opportunities. This report shows how Mozambique’s international investment agreements and publicly available oil, gas, and coal contracts allow foreign investors to bypass the national judicial system and bring multi-billion-dollar ISDS claims against Mozambique. Such claims can result in significant costs for the country, and they also have a chilling effect on new public-interest regulations in areas such as health, environment, community rights, or labor protections.
Disciplines
Environmental Law | International Law | Law
Recommended Citation
Lea Di Salvatore and Maria Julia Gubeissi, Billion-Dollar Exposure: Investor-State Dispute Settlement in Mozambique’s Fossil Fuel Sector (New York: Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment, 2024), https://ccsi.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/content/docs/Mozambique-ISDS.pdf.
Available at: https://scholarship.law.columbia.edu/sustainable_investment/30