Towards "Greening" of Energy and Mining Sectors in Former Soviet States: Foreign Investment Law and Dispute Settlement Implications

This research project poses the question whether the tendency to "green up" the energy and mining sectors, which expands beyond the European Union and now also encompasses former Soviet states, has a potential to bear considerable implications in the realm of international investment law and arbitration. The author will assess the existing economic profile, legislation and initiatives of the post-Soviet states that aim at fostering sustainable development and promoting environmental protection from the perspective of their potential impact on increasing the number of investor-state dispute settlement claims these states are facing. Moreover, existing international investment agreements and treaty-based investment arbitration disputes that these states are engaged in will be analysed from the perspective of embracing such "green" regulations. Finally, the common trends shared by the CIS countries in the realm of regulating and accommodating renewable energy FDI will be identified, and relevant recommendations on decreasing risks of their impact on investment law and arbitration will be drawn.