Abstract (eng)
The last 30 years have seen the exponential economic growth of Chile through the implementation of liberal policies, without, however, much consideration of environmental protection. Only the past few decades have seen the raise of environmental concerns, particularly due to the current climate crisis. In this context, the world economic order has been called into question and has faced criticism from the civil society. Chile is no exception, and the process of furthering its development has been at the centre of the political debate within the society. The COVID-19 Pandemic has added extra pressure on Chile’s economy and environment. The Comprehensive and Progressive Partnership for Trans-Pacific Partnership, an international trade and investment agreement, therefore raised as a valid option for the country to further engage in international trade and investment with partners of the Asia-Pacific region as a means to attend the current economic crisis faced by the country. The CPTPP, however, has been criticised by a considerable sector of the society and politicians. The criticisms revolve around the notion of sustainable development, in such a way that the ratification of this agreement would affect environmental protection disallowing Chile to carry development in a sustainable way. This, some argue, also constitutes a breach of Chile’s international obligations given the acquisition of sustainable development of normative status in international law. This thesis, therefore, addresses these two subject-matters, namely, the assessment of the notion of sustainable development, its meaning and legal status, and the analysis of the CPTPP, particularly of its investment chapter, which is the concern, for most parts, of the criticism that this agreement faces.