Conference: Rethinking International Investment Governance: Principles for the 21st Century

On September 27-28, 2018, the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment will host the 13th Annual Columbia International Investment Conference. The theme is: "Rethinking International Investment Governance: Principles for the 21st Century." The program is here. Here's the idea:

The world has entered a critical moment for international economic policy. International investment is widely recognized as essential to global sustainable development, facilitating the transfer of technology, skills, capital, and jobs across borders, providing access to environmentally sound practices and offering livelihoods supported by the global economy. But mobility of capital can lead, among other things, to economic volatility, job insecurity, races to the bottom in terms of environmental, social, and fiscal policies, and governance gaps making it difficult for individuals or entities harmed by multinational enterprises to effectively secure remedies. The stakes are high, and the outcomes uncertain.

Public discontent with international investment treaties has produced a fundamental shift in policy in some contexts, and various discussions of reform in international and regional fora. This presents a crucial, and potentially fleeting, opportunity to advance a progressive vision of international investment that will govern this complex and nuanced field going forward.

This Conference seeks to elaborate principles for a progressive investment agenda. It will reflect on the current investment regime – of the network of over 3,000 investment agreements – and the extent to which the regime aligns with or undermines those principles. We will then re-imagine investment governance, and consider the role that international cooperation could play to advance sustainable, development-oriented investment.