A Research On Environmental Clauses In International Investment Agreements

International investment,which began in the period of capitalist development,is highly liberalized with the acceleration of economic globalization.While promoting world economic growth,international investment has also spawned a series of environmental problems,such as environmental pollution,resource depletion and so on.In order to cope with the negative environmental effects of international investment,the environmental clauses regulating the relations between investment and environment have been emerging in IIAs to mitigate the contradictions between liberalization of international investment and environmental protection.After continuous development,the environmental clauses in IIAs are becoming more and more comprehensive,and the types and contents of the clauses are more diverse and rich.However,according to the practice of arbitration,the birth of environmental clauses does not balance the environmental public interest and the investors 'interests effectively.From the domestic point of view,China's status in the field of international investment has changed,The previous investment policy also let our country face the environment crisis.Based on the above understanding,it is necessary to study the environmental clauses systematically.On the basis of clarifying the relationship between international investment and environment,this paper firstly discusses the reasons and legitimacy of environmental clauses in IIAs,then introduces and sums up the development trend of different kinds of environmental clauses.according to the arbitration practice,the paper analyzes the limitations of environmental clauses in the concrete application and puts forward corresponding countermeasures.Finally,we study the environmental clauses in China's investment agreement,find out the deficiencies,and put forward the corresponding suggestions for improvement.