International Investment Law as an Obstacle to Climate Protection

The episode introduces the basics of international investment law, zooming in on Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS), a system of dispute resolution which allows foreign investors to seek damages, amounting on average to several hundreds of millions of euros, against governments.

Wiebe delves into the history of ISDS, explaining how fossil fuel companies like Shell were actively involved in the creation and shaping of international investment law. Stephanie outlines the most common criticisms of ISDS, including the system's lack of transparency and its potential to create a chilling effect on climate policy. She explains these dynamics further using the example of the case of ExxonMobil v the Netherlands concerning the closure of the Groningen gas field.

Finally, Stephanie and Wiebe reflect on perspectives for reform, concluding that procedural reforms of ISDS fall short of meaningfully addressing concerns around regulatory chill and the legitimacy of ISDS as such. Ending on a hopeful note, Stephanie brings up how ISDS was discussed as a potential barrier to climate action at the first Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels in Santa Marta, indicating that internationally political momentum is building towards a potential overhaul of or exit from the system altogether.

References

Wiebe Hommes & Laurens Ankersmit, Shell and the Creation of International Investment Law, 1957–1968

Investor-State Dispute Settlement: What Are We Trying to Achieve? Does ISDS Get us There?

Investor-state dispute settlements: a hidden handbrake on climate action

ICSID Caseload Statistics 2024

Kyla Tienhaara & Christian Downie, Risky Business? The Energy Charter Treaty, Renewable Energy, and Investor-State Disputes

Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels (Santa Marta)

SOMO & Both Ends Road Map for Santa Marta Conference

Recommendations

Documentary: The Tribunal

Report: Aftershock in Groningen

The Nutmeg's Curse

About

Editing: Clara Kammeringer

Music: “Delayed Flight” by Michael Ramir C. via mixkit

Recorded at the University of Amsterdam, May 2026

The LitDem Project

This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon Europe research and innovation programme (grant agreement n° 101125511).

Educating Climate Conscious Lawyers

Julia Dehm speaks about what it means to work, teach, and think as a lawyer in the midst of the climate crisis. Julia reflects on the relationship between theoretical research and real-world impact, the importance of collaborative and community-engaged scholarship, and the need to make climate change central rather than peripheral to legal education and legal practice. The conversation also explores how historical approaches can help lawyers better understand the structures that have produced ecological harm, while also opening space for more just and imaginative legal futures.

The episode further discusses the practical and personal dimensions of doing climate-related work: avoiding burnout, balancing academic life with family responsibilities, and building supportive communities. The episode offers an invitation to think about law not only as a tool for responding to environmental crisis, but as a field that must itself be transformed by ecological awareness, responsibility, and care.

Julia Dehm is an Associate Professor and ARC DECRA Fellow in the School of Law, La Trobe University Australia. Her research addresses issues of international and domestic climate change and environmental law, natural resource governance and human rights, economic inequality and social justice. She visited the UvA as participant in the Decolonial Futures Scholars in Residence Programme 2026.

References

Becoming a climate conscious lawyer: Climate change and the Australian legal system, edited by Julia Dehm, Nicole Graham and Zoe Nay

Scorecard — Law Students for Climate Accountability

Julia Dehm and Erin Fitz-Henry, ‘Climate Reparations in Australia’ Alternative Law Journal

Youth Verdict v. Waratah Coal - The Climate Litigation Database

ASRA Network | Waratah Coal v. Youth Verdict

Home - The Australian Climate Case

"Daniel Billy" Case

Recommendations

WHO'S GONNA SAVE US?

Saving The Franklin | Dig with Jo Lauder

About

Editing: Martyna Durlik

Music: “Delayed Flight” by Michael Ramir C. via mixkit

Recorded at the University of Amsterdam, May 2026

The LitDem Project

This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon Europe research and innovation programme (grant agreement n° 101125511).

Science and justice in climate litigation

In this episode of Between Heat and Hope, we are joined by Professor Joyeeta Gupta. Joyeeta Gupta is Professor of Environment and Development in the Global South at the University of Amsterdam and Professor at IHE Delft Institute for Water Education. Her work sits at the intersection of climate law, earth system science, and environmental justice, with a particular focus on the Global South. She has been involved in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

The conversation begins by unpacking the role and working methods of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, where Joyeeta has been involved as a lead author. It then turnsto the current state of climate science and the prospects of limiting global warming to 1.5°C with no or limited overshoot. Joyeeta walks us through key concepts such as carbon budgets, net zero and overshoot, and explains how these concepts shape mitigation pathways and questions of equity. From there, we discuss the role and limits of science in climate litigation. The episode then turns to North-South equity, fossil fuel phase-out, carbon lock-in, and the particular justice questions raised by climate cases in Europe and the Global South. Finally, Joyeeta reflects on her long engagement with global climate policy and on what a more sustainable and equitable future would require.

References

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

Earth Commission

Global Commission on the Economics of Water

Global Constitution Project

CLIFF Project

International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion on climate change

Recommendations

Extinction Rebellion

YUMI: Documentary about ICJ Court Case

Fossil fuel Non-Proliferation Initiative

Global Constitution Project

About

Editing: Martyna Durlik, Clara Kammeringer

Music: “Delayed Flight” by Michael Ramir C. via mixkit

Recorded at the University of Amsterdam, April 2026

The LitDem Project

This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon Europe research and innovation programme (grant agreement n° 101125511).