Trends in the investment treaty regime and a reform toolbox for the energy transition
IIA Issues Note, No. 2, 2023
- Work to reform the international investment agreement (IIA) regime continued in 2022–2023. This included new types of investment-related agreements, the termination of existing bilateral investment treaties and ongoing multilateral discussions on reforming investor–State dispute settlement mechanisms.
- For the third consecutive year, treaty terminations exceeded new IIAs. This brought the IIA universe to 3,265 treaties, of which 2,584 are in force.
- In 2022 claimants filed 46 new ISDS cases under IIAs, bringing the total count of publicly known cases to 1,257. Most new ISDS cases were brought under old-generation IIAs.
- The landscape is still largely dominated by old-generation IIAs, which are characterized by inconsistencies with the global sustainability imperative and can hinder governments’ policy space to implement measures needed for the energy transition. This makes reforming the IIA regime even more urgent.
- UNCTAD developed an IIA toolbox for the promotion of sustainable energy investment. The objective is to transform IIAs into instruments that actively support the energy transition.
