The system of investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) found in over 3,000 bilateral investment treaties and numerous regional trade agreements has been criticized for interfering with the rights of sovereign states to regulate investment in the public interest, for example, to protect the environment and public health. This article argues that while much of the public debate around ISDS has focused on a small number of cases that have arisen over the regulation of tobacco packaging, there is a far greater threat posed by the potential use of ISDS by the fossil fuel industry to stall action on climate change. It is hypothesized that fossil fuel corporations will emulate a tactic employed by the tobacco industry – that of using ISDS to induce cross-border regulatory chill: the delay in policy uptake in jurisdictions outside the jurisdiction in which the ISDS claim is brought. Importantly, fossil fuel corporations do not have to win any ISDS cases for this strategy to be effective; they only have to be willing to launch them. The article concludes with three options to reform trade and investment agreements to better align them with climate change mitigation efforts: (i) exclude ISDS provisions; (ii) prohibit fossil fuel industries from accessing ISDS; or (iii) carve out all government measures taken in pursuit of international obligations (for example, under the Paris Agreement on climate change) from challenge under ISDS.

中文翻译：

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全球变暖中的监管寒冬：投资者与国家争端解决对气候政策的威胁

在 3,000 多个双边投资条约和众多区域贸易协定中发现的投资者与国家争端解决系统 (ISDS) 因干涉主权国家为公共利益而规范投资的权利而受到批评，例如，保护环境和公共卫生。本文认为，尽管围绕 ISDS 的大部分公开辩论都集中在少数因烟草包装监管而出现的案例上，但化石燃料行业可能使用 ISDS 来拖延时间所构成的威胁要大得多。气候变化行动。据推测，化石燃料公司将效仿烟草业采用的策略——使用 ISDS 引发跨境监管寒意：提出 ISDS 索赔的司法管辖区以外的司法管辖区延迟采用政策。重要的是，化石燃料公司不必赢得任何 ISDS 案件才能使该战略有效；他们只需要愿意启动它们。本文最后提出了三个改革贸易和投资协议的选项，以更好地使它们与减缓气候变化的努力保持一致：(i) 排除 ISDS 条款；(ii) 禁止化石燃料行业访问 ISDS；(iii) 将政府为履行国际义务（例如，根据气候变化巴黎协定）而采取的所有措施排除在 ISDS 下的挑战。本文最后提出了三个改革贸易和投资协议的选项，以更好地使它们与减缓气候变化的努力保持一致：(i) 排除 ISDS 条款；(ii) 禁止化石燃料行业访问 ISDS；(iii) 将政府为履行国际义务（例如，根据气候变化巴黎协定）而采取的所有措施排除在 ISDS 下的挑战。本文最后提出了三个改革贸易和投资协议的选项，以更好地使它们与减缓气候变化的努力保持一致：(i) 排除 ISDS 条款；(ii) 禁止化石燃料行业访问 ISDS；(iii) 将政府为履行国际义务（例如，根据气候变化巴黎协定）而采取的所有措施排除在 ISDS 下的挑战。