Addressing the Systemic Risks of Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) to Climate Action
Informal Note, 5 June 2026
By Daniel Uribe Terán, Lead Programme Officer, Sustainable Development and Climate Change Programme, South Centre
The current international investment agreement (IIA) framework, featuring over 2,200 treaties with Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanisms, acts as a structural barrier to the implementation of key aspects of the Paris Agreement. By protecting fossil fuel investments, those treaties create significant financial risks that may induce “regulatory chill,” deterring states from implementing necessary climate mitigation measures. Recent rulings from the International Court of Justice, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, and the European Court of Human Rights have affirmed states’ sovereign rights to regulate for climate action, providing new legal tools to challenge the ISDS status quo. However, these judicial developments do not eliminate litigation risks or guarantee favourable outcomes. Consequently, states must pursue systemic reform, including treaty modernisation, the termination of outdated IIAs, the implementation of comprehensive climate carve-outs, and restrictions on forward-looking damages. Addressing these legal barriers at upcoming forums like the 64th sessions of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Subsidiary Bodies (SB 64) is essential to align international investment law with the existential imperative of a low-emission transition.
Charting Green Industrial Futures: Advancing Global South Cooperation for a Just Transition
By Danish
Accelerating green industrialisation is essential for Global South countries to align their national climate action with job creation, economic growth and sustainable development. However, they face persistent barriers in access to finance, clean technologies, and policy space needed to implement green industrial policies. This policy brief argues that these constraints can be effectively addressed by developing countries through expanding their international cooperation in climate, trade and industry. Through the analysis of three institutional mechanisms emerging from the Global South – the Africa Green Industrialisation Initiative (AGII), the International Solar Alliance (ISA), and the Integrated Forum on Climate Change and Trade (IFCCT), the brief highlights some ways for developing countries to shape their own green industrial futures and advance a just transition.
The sixty-fourth sessions of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice and the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SB64), Belém indicators, plastic treaty and Santa Marta outcomes
Informal Note, 5 June 2026
By Daniel Uribe Terán, Lead Programme Officer, and Touba Esfahani Nejad, Intern, of the Sustainable Development and Climate Change Programme (SDCC) at the South Centre
The Belém Adaptation Indicators agreed at COP30 to make adaptation more measurable. While the measurement of the adaptation efforts is a step forward, it is not sufficient. The indicators can be used for comparison and surveillance. However, the adaptation objective of the Paris Agreement is to enhance adaptive capacity, strengthen resilience and reduce vulnerability of persons and of vulnerable ecosystems that are critical for the maintenance of forest ecosystems and the provision of forest ecosystem services. To achieve these objectives, it is necessary to take effective action to provide finance, technology transfer, debt relief and capacity-building. In SB64, developing countries will have the opportunity to discuss what is the role of reporting while support for implementing adaptation measures are missing.
Leveraging Global South Data Through Digital Public Infrastructure for Sustainable Development
24 June 2026 | 11:00 – 12:00 (CEST) | Zoom
Taking place on Digital Public Infrastructures Day (DPI) Day during the UN Open Source Week 2026, this webinar aims to:
Examine how regulatory regimes and data governance frameworks in Global South countries are contributing to the development and deployment of DPIs to generate economic benefits and promote sustainable development.
Explore innovative approaches to leverage Global South data through DPI for equitable monetisation, such as the DPI for Democratic Data Monetisation (DPI-DDM) model.
Strengthen the voice of developing nations in multilateral governance initiatives for DPI, data governance and digital transformation.
Leading Global Artificial Intelligence Governance from Outcomes to Impact
By Aishwarya Narayanan and Danish
The proliferation of high-level events on Artificial Intelligence (AI) in recent years has contributed to a global AI governance framework that marginalises many developing countries’ priorities. The India-AI Impact Summit, as the first AI summit of its kind to be held in the Global South, has shown how the views, needs and concerns of the developing and least developed nations can be placed at the heart of the global AI agenda.
Through the lens of the India-AI Impact Summit, this policy brief underscores the need to build synergies between AI summit outcomes, UN-based discussions and multistakeholder initiatives. It posits how coherence among these diverse processes can be advanced through the work of the Independent International Scientific Panel on AI and the Global Dialogue on AI Governance under the UN. The brief concludes with recommendations for building greater convergence on global AI governance that supports sustainable development in the Global South.
The First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels: Reclaiming Multilateralism for a Just Transition
Informal Note, 28 April 2026
By Daniel Uribe Terán
The First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels, co-hosted by Colombia and the Netherlands, serves as a necessary platform for reclaiming multilateralism for a just transition. This paper analyses how the conference addresses the ‘judicialization’ of climate obligations following landmark 2025 advisory opinions from the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR). It highlights critical barriers facing developing countries, specifically the ‘regulatory chill’ caused by Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanisms and the ‘debt-fossil fuel trap’ that binds extractive economies to external risks. It also recognises that integrating the ‘People’s Summit’ outcomes into the official Conference could promote a reparative financial model and strengthen the principle of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC). Ultimately, Santa Marta should provide a blueprint for systemic reform, ensuring that global decarbonisation respects resource sovereignty and human dignity while moving toward a coordinated, legally backed effort for collective survival.
These inputs have been provided in response to the letter by the Co-Chairs of the Global Dialogue on AI Governance dated 18 March 2026 requesting for stakeholders to share perspectives, priorities and proposals to inform the thematic focus, structure and preparations for the first Global Dialogue, to be held in Geneva on 6-7 July.
Engaging the UN Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence for the Global South
By Danish
The UN General Assembly has set up the new Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence to assess how the development and deployment of AI technologies are creating risks, impacts and opportunities. Co-chaired by Maria Ressa and Yoshua Bengio, the Panel will be presenting its inaugural report in July 2026. This paper presents significant priorities for developing and least developed countries around AI impacts, benefit-sharing and governance, and provides some recommendations on how these priorities can be addressed by the Panel for promoting sustainable development in the global South.
Sovereignty and self-determination over natural resources in times of conflicts, climate change and (neo)colonialism
Side-Event to the 61st Session of the Human Rights Council
Co-organized by the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Development (Special Procedures, United Nations Human Rights Council) and South Centre
10 March 2026, 12-1pm
Concordia 1, Building A, Palais des Nations, Geneva
As we navigate the 61st session of the Human Rights Council, the South Centre and the Special Rapporteur on the right to development are convening a critical discussion on the intersection of resource sovereignty, conflict, and (neo)colonialism.
In an era defined by climate instability and geopolitical shifts, the right to self-determination over natural resources has never been more relevant. We are honoured to host a distinguished panel of ambassadors and experts to explore these challenges.
G20 Critical Minerals Deal: A Step Toward Equity or a New Extractive Frontier?
By Touba Esfahani Nejad
This paper examines the Group of Twenty (G20) Critical Minerals Framework adopted under South Africa’s Presidency and the extent to which it represents a shift toward more equitable mineral governance. It analyses the Framework’s key pillars and political commitments alongside the Johannesburg G20 Leaders’ Declaration, assessing their implications for mineral-rich developing countries, importing economies, refining hubs, and the G20 itself. The paper pays particular attention to gaps between stated ambitions and practical constraints having in view financing, technology transfer, and the policy space under the World Trade Organization (WTO) rules. It concludes by identifying the conditions under which the Framework could support real value addition and industrialization in the Global South rather than function as a supply-security tool for advanced economies.
Inputs to UN CSTD Working Group on Data Governance at All Levels
Track 3 – Considerations of Sharing the Benefits of Data
South Centre
February 2026
The South Centre submission to the United Nations Working Group on Data Governance highlights how economic and social benefits of data can accrue more equitably to the people and countries of the Global South.
AI and the Global South: Impacts, Opportunities, and Policy Approaches
By Danish
Artificial intelligence (AI) is set to transform economies and societies worldwide, with significant implications for people and the planet. For developing nations, AI will bring both transformative benefits and risks, requiring a proactive approach to its regulation that builds safeguards while promoting innovation. This paper therefore provides an assessment of the potential multidimensional impacts of AI on the people and countries of the global South, particularly on their digital transformation, labour and industrial development.
The paper further emphasises the need for developing nations to consider flexible policy frameworks for AI governance, tailored to their own unique needs, priorities, and capacities. Emphasising the importance of multistakeholder engagement, such as through opportunities provided by the India-AI Impact Summit, the paper underscores the need for effective international cooperation to build safe, trustworthy AI that promotes sustainable development.
