Contracting sustainable and responsible energy investment: trends, actors and grass-roots innovations for multi-level governance
type: CreativeWork
description: This thesis critically examines various contractual mechanisms by which the protection of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the energy sector is reconciled with other values of sustainable development through a ‘State-Investor-Population (S-I-P) Triangle’ lens. FDI is a major engine of the world’s economy. Both the UN’s 2015 Addis Ababa Action Agenda and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development call for FDI to serve as an essential financing element of sustainability efforts. However, because of the invasive nature and massive scale of cross-boundary business operations, FDI investment projects in the extractive industries are prone to have significant impacts on human rights and our natural environment. Current research in this fast-changing field mainly concentrates on international investment treaties, national regulations, and relevant energy dispute case-law. By contrast, project-specific contractual and quasi-contractual instruments have received far less attention despite their potential importance as components of a broader framework of global energy governance. These instruments are, in many ways, beyond the radar of most academics researching this field. This thesis seeks to address this research gap. It relies on fresh data sets compiled for this specific purpose and includes three primary forms of contracts, namely State-investor investment contracts (‘S-I’ contracts), Corporate-NGO partnerships/agreements (‘I-P’ contracts), and multi-actor (tripartite) investment contracts (‘S-I-P’ contracts), within and even beyond the S-I-P Triangle. Based on a research methodology combining socio-legal approaches and doctrinal analysis, the research conducted for this dissertation leads to three main findings: Firstly, contemporary legal frameworks for regulating international energy investment are fragmented and imbalanced (in favour of foreign investors). Recent global resistances and increasing investment disputes have also demonstrated that the conflicts betw…
abstract: This thesis critically examines various contractual mechanisms by which the protection of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the energy sector is reconciled with other values of sustainable development through a ‘State-Investor-Population (S-I-P) Triangle’ lens. FDI is a major engine of the world’s economy. Both the UN’s 2015 Addis Ababa Action Agenda and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development call for FDI to serve as an essential financing element of sustainability efforts. However, because of the invasive nature and massive scale of cross-boundary business operations, FDI investment projects in the extractive industries are prone to have significant impacts on human rights and our natural environment. Current research in this fast-changing field mainly concentrates on international investment treaties, national regulations, and relevant energy dispute case-law. By contrast, project-specific contractual and quasi-contractual instruments have received far less attention despite their potential importance as components of a broader framework of global energy governance. These instruments are, in many ways, beyond the radar of most academics researching this field. This thesis seeks to address this research gap. It relies on fresh data sets compiled for this specific purpose and includes three primary forms of contracts, namely State-investor investment contracts (‘S-I’ contracts), Corporate-NGO partnerships/agreements (‘I-P’ contracts), and multi-actor (tripartite) investment contracts (‘S-I-P’ contracts), within and even beyond the S-I-P Triangle. Based on a research methodology combining socio-legal approaches and doctrinal analysis, the research conducted for this dissertation leads to three main findings: Firstly, contemporary legal frameworks for regulating international energy investment are fragmented and imbalanced (in favour of foreign investors). Recent global resistances and increasing investment disputes have also demonstrated that the conflicts betw…
author: Yang, Chung-Han
language: en
keywords: FDI, Energy Investment, Investment Contract, NGO-Business Partnerships, Multi-level Governance, China
license: https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/bitstreams/69ca5578-6ef2-4cf2-95c3-f98039f32922/download
license: https://www.rioxx.net/licenses/all-rights-reserved/
date published: 2019-10-26
date modified: 2026-07-24T01:33:21Z
provider: Cambridge University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Cambridge

PropertyValue
property ID: DOI
value: 10.17863/CAM.44363