Addressing Environmental Protection Gaps in Sino-African Bilateral Investment Treaties

Abstract This article examines the scope and depth of environmental protection in Sino-African BITs. Chinese investment in Africa and the steps taken to include or enhance environmental concerns in these Sino-African treaties are comparatively discussed to show that they are generally as inadequate as other investment treaties to provide the necessary protection. Lessons drawn from the coverage of environmental provisions in nearly 125 BITs, some involving African states, are presented to give context to the key argument in this article. Written in the context of the ‘Africanization’ of international investment law, this article argues, taking into account Africa’s overall capacity as well as the amount of Chinese investment in Africa and its environmental impact, that this concern is best addressed through the adoption of aggressive national reform processes that are built into regional and finally a continental policy for ensuring sustainable development and environmental protection in relation to investments in Africa.