This report provides a policy resource on international investment agreements (IIAs), focusing on provisions relevant to public policy objectives identified as key priorities by the South African G20 Presidency, namely clean energy, digital transformation and public health.

The toolbox continues UNCTAD's engagement with G20 members on investment policymaking, building on the report Mapping Sustainable Development and Investment Facilitation Provisions in IIAs concluded by G20 Members and Invited Countries, produced by UNCTAD and OECD in 2024 under the Brazilian G20 presidency; and is based on a report informing the G20 Trade and Investment Working Group in 2025, at the invitation of the South African G20 Presidency.

The report serves as a resource for the voluntary exchange of best practices and experiences on IIAs. While covering examples contained in the IIAs of G20 members with a range of partner countries, the report refers also to IIAs of some G20 invited countries in 2025.

The toolbox builds on UNCTAD's extensive analytical and policy expertise on IIAs, and its long-standing work to align the IIA regime with sustainable development. Guidance included in UNCTAD's Investment Policy Framework for Sustainable Development, as well as the latest research in UNCTAD's World Investment Report 2023: Investing in Sustainable Energy for All and the World Investment Report 2025: International Investment in the Digital Economy provide governments with knowledge to enhance investment policies and the sustainable development impacts of FDI.

The international investment policymaking landscape has the potential to evolve and align with new priorities. Most of the 1,453 agreements signed by G20 members date from the 1990s and 2000s.

These older treaties often lack provisions that actively promote and facilitate sustainable investment. New IIAs are beginning to show pathways to mobilize investment for clean energy, the digital economy and public health while preserving regulatory autonomy.

Reviewing recent IIA treaty practice, the report distils provisions and treaty language employed in G20 IIAs that preserve regulatory space, promote responsible business conduct and proactively facilitate sustainable investment in the three focus sectors.

The findings are summarized in a toolbox, which provides a menu of new-generation IIA policy options to harness international investment policies for investment in clean energy, digital transformation and public health.

Cross-cutting issues are addressed under each of the three thematic areas to ensure comprehensive coverage.

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