Enforcing Climate Obligations through International Organisations: The EU and Investment

As the EU’s growth strategy presented by the European Commission in December 2019 aims at achieving climate neutrality by 2050 through a better coordination of environmental, economic and social policies, this chapter focuses on new enforcement mechanisms for climate policies outlined in the European Green Deal. The chapter specifically considers enforcement in the context of financial instruments. On the one hand, the European Climate Law (Regulation EU/2021/1119), the European Green Deal Investment Plan (EGDIP) and the Just Transition Mechanism envisage an unprecedented economic mobilisation, through a close synergy between public and private investment. On the other, secondary EU legislation does not necessarily provide effective sanctions for Member States, questioning the possibility of an infringement action. In addition, the chapter considers whether arbitration can be used for the effective implementation of sustainable investment policies, and if subsequent arbitral decisions can be enforced at the national level.