International Law and Renewable Energy Investment in the Global South

This book will discuss the legal tools offered by international law that can support foreign direct investment (FDI) in the renewable energy sector in the Global South.

Promoting and increasing investment in the renewable energy sector is crucial for limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 C and addressing energy poverty in the Global South. In this volume, Avidan Kent explores the various home-country measures (HCMs) offered by international law that support FDI in the renewable energy sector. This book provides a bird’s eye evaluation of HCMs from fields such as trade law, investment law, environmental law, development law and more. It reveals that while international law indeed offers many legal tools to support investors’ needs, the current legal framework is fragmented; most legal instruments were designed in isolation and the potential for mutually supportive, synergetic policies has been explored only to a limited extent. This fragmented reality is in contradiction to the notion of Policy Coherence for Development, which is increasingly gaining support in leading institutions in Europe and elsewhere. This book will provide recommendations on the manner in which HCMs can be connected in order to maximise their potential and boost investment in renewable energies in the developing world.

International Law and Renewable Energy Investment in the Global South will be of great interest to scholars, students and practitioners of international law, energy studies, development studies and IR more broadly.

Avidan Kent (Cantab) is an Associate Professor at the University of East Anglia, UK.