Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment

?? Ready to take your knowledge of extractive industries and sustainable development to the next level? Join us for the 13th annual Executive Training on Extractive Industries and Sustainable Development (EISD) from June 2–13, 2025! ????https://lnkd.in/e_grBZBE This immersive two-week virtual course, offered by the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment, is designed to equip professionals with the skills and tools needed to maximize the contributions of extractive industries to sustainable development. ????? Key benefits of EISD: ?? In-depth exploration of critical topics like fiscal frameworks, revenue management, environmental protection, and the intersection of extractive industries and climate change. ?? Interactive live sessions, case studies, and engagement with global experts and peers. ?? Practical application of analytical tools and frameworks to real-world contexts. ??? Statement of Attendance from Columbia University upon completion. If you've begun our MOOC on Mining and Materials for Sustainable Development Transformations and want to dive deeper, the EISD Executive Training is the perfect next step! ?? Apply now and join a global community of changemakers driving sustainable development in the extractive industries. ???? Learn more and apply by April 30, 2025: https://lnkd.in/e_grBZBE ? #CCSIonJustEnergyTransition ?? #CCSIonMiningGovernance ?? #CCSIonCriticalMinerals Lisa Sachs | Perrine Toledano | Martin Dietrich Brauch | Ben Baraga | Laura Garcia Cancino | Esther Akwii | Saleem H. Ali | Leila Kazemi | Tom Mitro | Antonio Pedro | Andrew Bauer | Perrine Toledano | Cristina Maria Villegas | Lara Wallis | Columbia Law School | Columbia Climate School | Sabin Center for Climate Change Law | Columbia Engineering | Columbia Global Centers

???? ???? In the EU–South Africa Summit taking place in Cape Town this Thursday, March 13, the European Commission is launching talks with South Africa on the first-ever Clean Trade and Investment Partnership (CTIP). What do we know about CTIPs, and how can they foster sustainable investment governance? In a new CCSI blog, my co-authors Carl Frederick Luthin and Stefan Mayr and I argue that the investment pillar of CTIPs should go beyond political promises and contain binding and tangible commitments from the EU to support partner countries in phasing out fossil fuels, fostering sustainable investments, and ensuring just transitions. Importantly, CTIPs should be combined with the termination of investment treaties with ISDS. ?? Read more: https://lnkd.in/egCuHpMc Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment | Columbia Law School | Columbia Climate School | Lisa Sachs | Ladan Mehranvar | Ben Baraga | Perrine Toledano | Lara Wallis | Lara Fornabaio #CTIP #trade #investment #ISDS #EU #SouthAfrica

There is widespread recognition that climate risks are intensifying. However, persistent confusion and conflation among these risks often undermine effective responses. In this brief by Lisa Sachs, Denise Hearn, Perrine Toledano and Man Group's?Matt Goldklang,?we?seek to disentangle these complexities.?Rather than imposing rigid classifications, our goal is to bring clarity to the discussion by distinguishing among three key categories of climate-related risks: planetary, economic, and financial, each with distinct implications for different stakeholders, timeframes, and response strategies. Read the full brief here:?https://lnkd.in/gaQX3wkN Columbia Law School |?Columbia Climate School #Risk?#FinancialRisk?#ClimateFinance

Attention mining sector policymakers, industry practitioners, and civil society stakeholders! ???? Looking to take your knowledge of mining governance and sustainable development to the next level? Join us for the 13th annual Executive Training on Extractive Industries and Sustainable Development (EISD) from June 2–13, 2025! ????https://lnkd.in/e_grBZBE This immersive two-week virtual course, offered by the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment, is designed to equip professionals with the skills and tools needed to maximize the contributions of extractive industries to sustainable development. ????? Key benefits of EISD: ?? In-depth exploration of critical topics like fiscal frameworks, revenue management, environmental protection, and the intersection of extractive industries and climate change. ?? Interactive live sessions, case studies, and engagement with global experts and peers. ?? Practical application of analytical tools and frameworks to real-world contexts. ??? Statement of Attendance from Columbia University upon completion. Apply now and join a global community of changemakers driving sustainable development in the extractive industries. ???? Learn more and apply by April 30, 2025: https://lnkd.in/e_grBZBE #EISD2025 #Sustainability #Mining #SustainableDevelopment #ClimateAction Lisa Sachs | Perrine Toledano | Martin Dietrich Brauch | Ben Baraga | Laura Garcia Cancino | Lara Wallis | Esther Akwii | Saleem H. Ali | Leila Kazemi | Tom Mitro | Antonio Pedro | Andrew Bauer | Perrine Toledano | Cristina Maria Villegas | Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment | Columbia Law School | Columbia Climate School | Sabin Center for Climate Change Law | Columbia Engineering | Columbia Global Centers

?? Join us TOMORROW (Thursday) for our second (and last!) virtual info session on Columbia Climate School's new one-year M.S. in Climate Finance! Columbia Business School's Bruce Usher and I will discuss what students can look forward to in this path-breaking program. Join online and bring your questions! ?? Please join our TOMORROW (Thursday, March 6, 2025) at 10:00 AM EST (UTC -05:00). Register here: https://lnkd.in/eQKtczi6 More information on the program, including application details at: https://lnkd.in/eUzX7hzX

?? Applications are open for our annual Executive Training on Investment Treaties and Arbitration for Government Officials, which will be held virtually, 9:00 am-11:30 am EDT, from September 8-12, 2025. This course is designed for government officials facing complex and pressing issues relating to international investment treaties, including the consideration of unilateral and multilateral reform options. The course will address: ? States’ objectives in their investment policy ? Links between treaties, investment flows, and development objectives ? Investor-state dispute settlement, and the concerns of states? ? Trends and developments in treaty practice ? Opportunities and challenges facing governments in treaty reform,? ? And other approaches to investment governance, including dispute prevention and alternatives to ISDS Through five 2.5 hour online sessions, government officials will gain a broad knowledge of investment treaty practice and governance and how new developments in the field apply to their own national governance structures and existing agreements, better equipping them to navigate this complex and continuously evolving field. Please visit our website to apply by July 14, 2025!? Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. ?? https://lnkd.in/efhsiVJz

What does it take for countries and companies to achieve progress in decarbonization? Find out at our info session on March 11, where we'll introduce Decarbonization: Policies and Practices for Countries and Companies, a Columbia Climate School professional learning workshop. This program equips professionals with the skills to drive impact in climate and sustainability. This spring, let’s explore the policy, financial, and technological dimensions of decarbonization. Participants will engage with real-world case studies on critical minerals, heavy industry, and oil & gas and examine the role of governments, markets, and international law in shaping decarbonization pathways. ???? Led by CCSI’s: Martin Dietrich Brauch, Lead Researcher? Laura Garcia Cancino, Senior Legal Researcher? ?? Hybrid Format: In-person at Columbia University & Online via Zoom ?? Info Session Date: March 11, 5:30 PM ET – Register here: https://lnkd.in/ej9NEC_X? ??? Exclusive Offer: Attendees who join the info session live receive a 10% discount code for the workshop. ?? Register for the professional learning program here: https://lnkd.in/e5zPPbJk Columbia Law School | Lisa Sachs | Perrine Toledano | Ben Baraga | Ana Maria Camelo Vega | Tucker Wilke #CCSIonClimateChange #CCSIonEnergyTransition #EnergyTransition #SustainableDevelopment #RenewableEnergy #Decarbonization #ClimatePolicy #SustainableInvestment #NetZero #EnergyTransition #CriticalMinerals #IndustrialDecarbonization #FossilFuelPhaseOut

??? #BP joins the list (along with #Shell, #Equinor, and others), reversing their renewable energy targets and doubling down on fossil fuels.?This is profoundly dangerous, arrogant, and a brazen gamble against our survival. It’s a bad gamble: the energy transition is underway and these new investments will necessarily be stranded. To protect their investments, these companies will necessarily have to double down on lobbying against policies that would promote cheap, secure and abundant clean energy, and cost-saving efficiency measures with public-health co-benefits throughout our economy. This same month, extraordinary Climate Scientist Jim Hansen published a new paper showing that global warming is accelerating faster than expected, hurtling us toward irreversible tipping points: https://lnkd.in/eZPtsFtC I spoke with BBC last night and would underscore two important points: 1.????These companies’ decisions are dangerous and arrogant, but they are taking place because of the collapse of leadership in the US and Europe. Private sector decisions (of energy producers, automakers, cement and steel manufacturers, construction, data centers) respond decisively to the policy framework. ?In the US, the policy framework has gone from being ambiguous under Biden to a clearer message from Trump that takes the breaks off fossil fuel production and promises no public sector support for the green economy. 2.????It’s sad to watch the US and EU fall almost irreversibly behind China in investing in the future. China’s policy framework has supported extraordinary investments in clean energy infrastructure, affordable EVs, and the semiconductor and advanced materials industry. They have a profound technological and economic advantage in all sectors of the global economy, to their great diplomatic advantage as well. It’s hard to know what the US and EU are thinking as they cede any form of leadership or competitiveness so decisively. (PS: DOGE, if you’re looking for waste, fraud and abuse, check out the $20+ billion in fossil fuel subsidies!)

?? Sanctions Against Cuba webinar – join live for the wrap-up: https://lnkd.in/eDQJghsz Columbia University Professor Jeffrey Sachs suggested various approaches on the future of U.S. unilateral coercive measures against Cuba: 1?? The U.S. Government could decide to lift the sanctions. "These sanctions are absurd from the U.S. point of view. American businesses would have an extremely active and profitable trade with Cuba. Many businesses know lifting the sanctions is in the U.S. interest." 2?? Cuba could strengthen trade with other trade partners, by promoting regional integration within Latin America (for example, through CELAC) and deepening ties with Europe, Southeast Asia, and other regions. 3?? Cuba, having recently joined the BRICS group, could join the non-dollar payment system BRICS countries are designing for trade among themselves, which would be impervious to U.S. sanctions. Sachs also endorsed the idea advocated by Alfred de Zayas: the United Nations General Assembly should request the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to issue an advisory opinion on unilateral coercive measures (generally, not only as applied to Cuba). #Cuba #Sanctions #UNGA Jeffrey Sachs | Lisa Sachs | Martin Dietrich Brauch | Columbia Law School | Columbia Climate School | Varsha Gandikota | Alfred de Zayas | Francisco Rodriguez | Alena Douhan | Ben Baraga | Progressive International

?? Sanctions Against Cuba webinar – join live: https://lnkd.in/eDQJghsz Alfred de Zayas, Former United Nations Independent Expert on the Promotion of a Democratic and Equitable International Order, criticized the false pretext of terrorism and the contradictory use of human rights to attempt to justify the imposition of illegal unilateral coercive measures—“invoking human rights to destroy human rights.” He stressed that the U.S. has been urged to lift unilateral coercive measures (32 times with respect to Cuba) and that the international community has been urged not to submit to those measures. De Zayas called on states that have endorsed the UNGA resolution against the U.S. embargo on Cuba to elevate the matter to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). An ICJ advisory opinion could clarify various international legal questions arising from unilateral coercive measures. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/dMtT64bA #Cuba #Sanctions #UNGA Jeffrey Sachs | Lisa Sachs | Martin Dietrich Brauch | Columbia Law School | Columbia Climate School | Varsha Gandikota | Alfred de Zayas | Francisco Rodriguez | Alena Douhan | Ben Baraga