Il Trattato sulla Carta dell’energia: conflittualità e sinergie tra la protezione degli investimenti e la lotta ai cambiamenti climatici

The fight against climate change has become a priority for the future of the international community. While, on the one hand, foreign investments can play a fundamental role for the safeguard of the environment, on the other, the enforcement of International Investment Agreements (IIAs) could have a negative impact on the fight against climate change and, in general, on environmental protection. In this context, the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) has a special relevance, since it exclusively covers investments in the energy sector, which is responsible for 84% of anthropogenic CO2 emissions and 64% of greenhouse gas emissions. The ECT is, at the moment, the most often invoked IIA in investor-State disputes. Furthermore, it is currently under a complex "modernization process", the outcome of which will affect the problem of climate change, since this process could favour or, instead, hinder the transition from fossil-based energy to renewable energies, with important consequences on the phenomenon of climate change. The article considers these aspects, with a special focus on the role of the European Union (EU) in this context, concluding that new synergies are possible between international investment law and environmental protection rules. Recent arbitral decisions as well as new FTAs and BITs prove that environmental protection and climate change are becoming more and more important within the international investment law.