Environment protection in the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment – REPORTEDITED BY ELODIE CARDONNET
Environment protection in the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment – REPORT
edited by Elodie Cardonnet, Research Fellow at Competere
Executive Summary
On December 30, 2020, the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment was agreed upon in principle by the European Union and the People’s Republic of China, with relevant potential effects on environment protection, considering its provisions on specific environmental sectors and on sustainable development principles.
The ratification process of the Agreement is currently challenged: some European Parliament members has opposed its approval, invoking environmental and human rights issues; moreover, in March 2021, EU-China sanctions slowed down the approval process, and in early May 2021 the Commission announced it suspended efforts to ratify it.
Nonetheless, positive considerations on the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment in terms of sustainable development and environment protection can be made: namely, the attention to expert opinion in drafting the final text; the inclusion of detailed environmental provisions, that follow elements featured in the European Union mainstream sustainability agenda and China’s national environmental goals, as announced in the Fourteenth Five-Year Plan; lastly, the fact that the text was agreed upon in principle before the sanctions, and that the approval may be only temporarily suspended.
This work, based on official legal documents, reports and press releases by European Union institutions, by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China, and by stakeholders and technical experts, provides an analysis of several views on the relevance and effectiveness of EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment in terms of sustainable development, and assesses the potential impact of the Agreement on environment protection and sustainable development.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Elodie Cardonnet is a Master’s student in “Contemporary China Studies” at Silk Road School (Renmin University of China), and in “Sustainable Development, Resource Geopolitics and Arctic Studies” at SIOI. She has a MA degree in “International Relations” (University of Milan, Renmin University of China), a BA degree in “International Sciences and European Institutions” (University of Milan, Sciences Po Lille, University of Wrocław), and a Master in “Global Marketing, Communication & Made in Italy”. She conducts research in the field of sustainable development and green finance, with a focus on the role of China.
