Episode 11: International Investment Law as an Obstacle to Climate Protection | with Stephanie Triefus and Wiebe Hommes
International Investment Law as an Obstacle to Climate Protection
The episode introduces the basics of international investment law, zooming in on Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS), a system of dispute resolution which allows foreign investors to seek damages, amounting on average to several hundreds of millions of euros, against governments.
Wiebe delves into the history of ISDS, explaining how fossil fuel companies like Shell were actively involved in the creation and shaping of international investment law. Stephanie outlines the most common criticisms of ISDS, including the system’s lack of transparency and its potential to create a chilling effect on climate policy. She explains these dynamics further using the example of the case of ExxonMobil v the Netherlands concerning the closure of the Groningen gas field.
Finally, Stephanie and Wiebe reflect on perspectives for reform, concluding that procedural reforms of ISDS fall short of meaningfully addressing concerns around regulatory chill and the legitimacy of ISDS as such. Ending on a hopeful note, Stephanie brings up how ISDS was discussed as a potential barrier to climate action at the first Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels in Santa Marta, indicating that internationally political momentum is building towards a potential overhaul of or exit from the system altogether.
References
Wiebe Hommes & Laurens Ankersmit, Shell and the Creation of International Investment Law, 1957–1968
Investor-State Dispute Settlement: What Are We Trying to Achieve? Does ISDS Get us There?
Investor-state dispute settlements: a hidden handbrake on climate action
ICSID Caseload Statistics 2024
Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels (Santa Marta)
SOMO & Both Ends Road Map for Santa Marta Conference
Recommendations
Report: Aftershock in Groningen
About
Editing: Clara Kammeringer
Music: “Delayed Flight” by Michael Ramir C. via mixkit
Recorded at the University of Amsterdam, May 2026
The LitDem Project
This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme (grant agreement n° 101125511).
