International Investment Law and the Green Transition

In recent years, the global push for environmental sustainability has begun to reshape international and domestic regulatory frameworks, including international investment law (IIL). As industrial policy shifts toward cleaner, low-carbon production, the IIL framework plays a pivotal role in facilitating  -but sometimes also constraining- this transformation. While initiatives by the OECD, UNCTAD and others seek to “green” investment law, ongoing reform processes such as the UNCITRAL Working Group III discussions and the Energy Charter Treaty modernization have revealed the limits of coordinated progress.

This conference brings together experts in international investment law, EU law, and economics to explore how IIL can better support the green transition. It marks the conclusion of the ENERGIZE research project and presents key findings on investment law, plurilateralism, and environmental protection.

The event will be held online.

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11 December 2025

• 9.35 – 09.45

  Introduction and welcome remarks

• 09.45 – 11.15

  Journal of World Investment & Trade Special Issue (26:5)
  International Investment Law and Plurilateralism

  • International Investment Law and Plurilateralism – Concept, Prospects and Limitations
    Joanna Lam (University of Copenhagen) and Stefan Voigt (University of Hamburg)
  • The Member States of the European Union, Contracting Parties to the Energy Charter Treaty: Plurilateralism in the Light of EU Law
    Eleftheria Neframi (University of Luxembourg)
  • The EU’s Withdrawal from the Energy Charter Treaty: between Treaty Law and International Responsibility Issues
    Luca Pantaleo (Università degli Studi di Cagliari)
  • Bridging the Gap between IIAs and the accommodation to a green transition with UNCITRAL’s Draft Provision 12(3)
    Siri Silvereke (University of Copenhagen)
  •  Commitments and expectations: what exactly has been promised to renewable energy investors?
    Fernando Dias Simões (Peking University School of Transnational Law)

• 11.30 – 12.45

  International Investment Law and Environmental Protection (CUP) I

  • Environmental Dissent: Toward a Complete Theory of ISDS’s Domestic Law Critique
    Yuliya Chernykh (University of Inland Norway)
  • The Use of International Environmental Agreements in International Investment Law
    Laura Létourneau Tremblay (University of Inland Norway)
  • Interpretation of Investment Treaties over Time
    Ursula Kriebaum (University of Vienna)
  • The Role of Counterclaims in Addressing Environmental Issues in Investment Treaty Arbitration
    Aleksander Szostak (Eversheds Sutherland Poland

• 13.45 – 15.15

  International Investment Law and Environmental Protection (CUP) II

  • Effectiveness of Environmental Exceptions to Investment Protection in CETA after the Eco Oro Award
    Paweł Marcisz (University of Warsaw)
  • Playing Defense – Reinforcing State Police Powers and the Right to Regulate for Environmental Protection
    Ted Gleason (Grenoble Ecole de Management)
  • Investment Arbitration and Climate Justice in the Paris Agreement Era
    Maria Laura Marceddu (Edinburgh Centre for International and Global Law)
  • Is ISDS Unfriendly towards Friends of the Court? Amicus curiae Participation in Environmental Investment Disputes
    Arman Melikyan (Luxembourg Centre for European Law, University of Luxembourg) and Lena Hornkohl (University of Vienna)
  • Tariffs, Climate Commitments, and ISDS: The Case of Electric Vehicles
    Ömer Erkut Bulut (Boğaziçi University)

• 15.15

  Concluding remarks

This conference is organised by the Faculty of Law of the University of Copenhagen in partnership with:

• Study Hub for International Economic Law and Development (SHIELD), University of Copenhagen
• Centre for Legal Studies in Welfare and Market (WELMA), University of Copenhagen
• Luxembourg Centre for European Law, University of Luxembourg