The Report was prepared at the request of Brazil's G20 Presidency 2024, in line with the strategic priority on "Sustainable development in investment agreements" defined for the work of the G20 Trade and Investment Working Group, and informed the discussions of the Group throughout 2024.

The Report, based on UN Trade and Development original data, provides a mapping and analysis of the treatment of sustainable development and investment facilitation in the international investment agreements (IIAs) concluded by G20 Members and invited countries. It integrates complementary inputs provided by the OECD.

Highlights

• Recent IIAs concluded by G20 Members and invited countries (G20+) widely incorporate sustainable development provisions and are leading the way in integrating investment facilitation considerations.
• Provisions aimed at preserving regulatory space for sustainable development are present in over 90 per cent of recent G20+ IIAs, compared to less than 15 per cent before 2010.
• Provisions intended to promote responsible business conduct are present in 71 per cent of recent G20+ IIAs, while virtually absent before 2010.
• Over 70 per cent of recent G20+ IIAs contain investment facilitation provisions, most often aimed at improving the regulatory environment for investment and at strengthening institutional mechanisms for cooperation, compared to less than 10 per cent before 2000.
• A growing share of G20+ IIAs also contain commitments specifically geared towards facilitating sustainable investment (36 per cent) or private and civil society engagement on investment policies (44 per cent), including provisions geared towards making those commitments effective on the ground.
• Recently concluded IIAs thus starkly differ from earlier G20+ IIAs; it should be noted that these earlier IIAs, which do not systematically address sustainable development and investment facilitation, account for over 85 per cent of G20+ IIAs in force.
• A limited number of IIA provisions are in line with a “whole of government” approach as emerging from policy tools and standards developed by UNCTAD, the OECD, and the World Bank, among others. This approach goes beyond investment facilitation to address the broader policy framework for sustainable investment. It covers areas such as investment governance, financial and technical support, cooperation and partnerships to foster a more conducive climate for foreign investment.
• Implementing international commitments on sustainable investment at the domestic level is important to give effect to IIAs provisions. The role of treaty-based cooperation mechanisms, benchmarking instruments developed by international organisations, and development cooperation could be further explored to support domestic implementation.
• Domestic implementation of international commitments on investment facilitation and sustainable development may also benefit from the analysis of domestic practices that countries are adopting to harness sustainable investment. Specific examples are provided in this Report.

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This report does not aim to prescribe mandatory policy guidance or recommend specific regulatory measures for international investment agreements (IIAs). Instead, the insights provided herein may serve as a resource for the voluntary exchange of best practices and experiences.

Each G20 Member or invited country retains full discretion over whether and how to utilize this report as a consultation document when considering provisions for its own IIAs.

The primary objective is to foster informed discussions and facilitate cooperation on sustainable development and investment facilitation in line with each country’s unique policy frameworks and priorities.