Reconciling International Investment Law and Climate Change Policy: Potential Liability for Climate Measures Under the Trans-Pacific Partnership

Authors

Meredith Wilensky, Columbia Law School, Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2015

Abstract

The pending Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement has raised controversy, fueled by leaks of the draft text and congressional debate over fast-track negotiation authority. Like similar agreements, the TPP creates the risk of government liability for enacting regulations, especially new or comprehensive measures to address climate change. This Article analyzes how the TPP’s investor protection provisions and dispute settlement mechanism might be invoked to challenge climate change policy. The author concludes that the negotiators’ efforts to date are insufficient to protect climate measures from the risk of liability, and suggests reforms to the draft text.

Disciplines

Environmental Law | Law

Recommended Citation

Meredith Wilensky, Reconciling International Investment Law and Climate Change Policy: Potential Liability for Climate Measures Under the Trans-Pacific Partnership, 45 Envtl. L. Rep. 10683 (2015).
Available at: https://scholarship.law.columbia.edu/sabin_climate_change/128

For information and resources from the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, please visit us here.