Five Years After the Adoption of the Paris Agreement, Are Climate Change Considerations Reflected in Mining Contracts?

Authors

Tehtena Mebratu-Tsegaye, Columbia Law School, Columbia Center on Sustainable InvestmentFollow
Perrine Toledano, Columbia Law School, Columbia Center on Sustainable InvestmentFollow
Martin Dietrich Brauch, Columbia Law School, Columbia Center on Sustainable InvestmentFollow
Mara Greenberg, Columbia Law School

Document Type

Report/Policy Paper

Publication Date

7-2021

Abstract

Domestic laws are the ideal legal instrument to regulate the mining sector’s contribution to climate change mitigation and adaptation. Even so, as a stop-gap-measure, governments may consider updating model mining development agreements (MMDAs) or negotiating climate­-related contractual provisions. This CCSI paper explores whether governments are using, and how they can use, investor–state mining contracts to advance climate goals. We synthesize our findings and recommendations for six categories of provisions: integrating renewable energy into mining products, reducing deforestation, requiring a climate risk assessment and community vulnerability assessment, regulating water use, requiring tailings dam design justifications, and integrating climate risks into closure plans.

Disciplines

Energy and Utilities Law | Environmental Law | Law | Natural Resources Law | Oil, Gas, and Mineral Law | Securities Law | Transnational Law

Recommended Citation

Tehtena Mebratu-Tsegaye, Perrine Toledano, Martin D. Brauch & Mara Greenberg, Five Years After the Adoption of the Paris Agreement, Are Climate Change Considerations Reflected in Mining Contracts?, (2021).
Available at: https://scholarship.law.columbia.edu/sustainable_investment_staffpubs/198