LCIL Friday Lecture: 'Sovereign Wealth Funds and International Law' Dr Damilola Olawuyi, HBKU Law School

Lecture Summary: While sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) provide significant opportunities for countries to finance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), such investments often raise environmental, social, and governance (ESG) questions in host countries. This lecture analyzes the role of international law in addressing ESG risks in transnational SWF investments. It discusses the guiding principles of socially responsible SWF investments in international law. Dr Damilola OlawuyiDamilola S. Olawuyi is an expert in energy, environment and sustainable development law. He is an Associate Professor of Law at the HBKU Law School, Doha, Qatar, and Director of the Institute for Oil, Gas, Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development (OGEES Institute), Nigeria. He is currently a Herbert Smith Freehills Visiting Professor at Cambridge Law Faculty. His most recent book publications are Extractives Industry Law in Africa (Springer, 2018) and The Human Rights-Based Approach to Carbon Finance (Cambridge University Press, 2016). Dr. Olawuyi has lectured on energy and environmental law in over 40 countries. Dr. Olawuyi serves on the executive committees and boards of several organizations. He is Vice Chair of the International Law Association; co-chair of the Africa Interest Group of the American Society of International Law (2016-2019); and member of the Academic Advisory Group of the International Bar Association’s Section on Energy, Environment, Natural Resources and Infrastructure Law (SEERIL). He is the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Sustainable Development Law and Policy.