Clean Energy Investment: A report by the IISD

The International Institute for Sustainable Development has published a report on clean-energy investment, with a focus on encouraging policies that would attract environmentally sustainable investment into developing countries.

The report describes obstacles and opportunities to attracting clean-energy investment. At the domestic level, these include the various criteria that make the environment either attractive or risky for investors. At the international level, the report remarks that international investment agreements could restrict government policies that aim to limit GHG emissions from existing installations.

In particular, the report suggests that investor protections against indirect expropriation and guarantees of fair and equitable treatment could limit regulations that have significant economic impacts on foreign investors in the energy sector.

The report also provides an analysis of two international energy specific treaties:  Energy Charter Treaty and the ECOWAS Energy Protocal.

Clean Energy Investment: Project synthesis report, is available for download from the IISD website: http://www.iisd.org/pdf/2008/cei_synthesis.pdf