CYIL vol. 13 (2022)

CYIL 13 ȍ2022Ȏ INTEGRATING CLIMATE CHANGE ELEMENTS INTO INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT… Investment and Sustainable Development As demonstrated in the text above, the EU Taxonomy-aligned investment reflecting on six different objectives is much broader concept than strictly ‘climate change investment’ or ‘green investment’. It is inappropriate to concentrate on climate change or green investment in their pure forms. Based on the OECD study, the definitions focusing around climate change are more uniform as they can be deduced from the science about how to address climate change. 70 It is, however, important to include responsible, sustainable, and similar investment as well. Environmental factors should not be viewed in isolation. For example, a clean technology company may have problems with labour laws. On the other hand, a company providing community services may be a serious contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. The concept of sustainable development seeks to balance social, environmental, and economic interests. A new era of economic growth that is forceful and at the same time socially and environmentally sustainable was already proposed in the Brundtland Report in 1987. 71 The sustainable development concept was further elaborated in the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development in 1992 and became a guiding principle for the international community under the UN Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development in 2015. 72 The Paris Agreement is closely linked to sustainable development and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set out in the UN Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development. 73 Adopted shortly before the Paris Agreement, the 2030 Agenda links the economic and social development goals and emphasises, among other things, the importance of ‘mobilising additional public and private resources’ alongside international public finance. 74 The potential of foreign direct investment to make a significant contribution to sustainable development is highlighted in the UN Addis Ababa Action Agenda, which forms an integral part of the 2030 Agenda. 75 According to Viñuales, the 2030 Agenda is a clear recognition of the potential synergies between foreign investment and sustainable development, including environmental protection. 76 SD Goal 13 specifically calls for urgent action to combat climate change. In the context of foreign investment, the idea of sustainable development serves as a guiding principle for reforming international investment agreements and manifests itself in two main ways. First, the international investment agreements should enhance political and regulatory stability to encourage foreign investing without undermining the State’s right to 70 INDERST, G., KAMINKER, Ch., STEWARD, F. Defining and Measuring Green Investments: Implications for Institutional Investors’ Asset Allocations. OECD Working Papers on Finance, Insurance and Private Pensions , 2012, No. 24, OECD Publishing, p. 11. 71 World Commission on Environment and Development. Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development “Our common future”: note / by the Secretary-General [Brundtland report]. UN Document A/42/427, 1987. 72 United Nations. Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. UN Document A/ RES/70/1,2015. The Government of the Czech Republic is also committed to the SDGs. 73 Article 2(1) of the Paris Agreement combines its primary objective (improving the global response to the threat of climate change) with the prerogative of sustainable development. 74 United Nations. Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. UN Document A/ RES/70/1,2015, para 43. 75 Ibid., para 62. Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development (Addis Ababa Action Agenda). UN Document A/RES/69/313, 17.8.2015. para 45. 76 VIÑUALES, J. E. Foreign investment and the environment in international law: current trends. In: MILES, K. Research Handbook on Environment and Investment Law . Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2019. p 16.

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