Emma Aisbett is an Associate Professor at the ANU School of Law and Associate Director (Research) for the Zero-Carbon Energy for the Asia Pacific Grand Challenge at the Australian National University. Emma has degrees in Chemical Engineering (UNSW), Environmental Management (Oxford) and Economics (UC Berkeley). She combines her interdisciplinary understanding with extensive government and industry engagement to develop solutions to problems at the intersection of international economic regulation and the environment. In addition to publishing in leading journals in economics, political science, law and engineering, Emma provides expertise to Australian Government and industry, and to international organisations such as the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, OECD and UNCTAD.

She is one of the world’s leading interdisciplinary scholars on international investment agreements, with over 600 citations to publications in leading law, political science and economics journals. She has been invited to present to the OECD Freedom of Investment Roundtable and UNTAC High-level meetings on IIAs. She was was recently awarded the 2021 JIEL John H Jackson Prize for most significantly breaking new ground and adding new insights to the study & understanding of International Economic Law.

Her current research focusses on Trade & Investment-Related Climate Policies, and their intersection with Green Industrial Policy. She is currently leading the Australian side of the certification work in the Germany-Australia HySupply project, is Lead CI on an ARC Linkage Project on Public Embedded Emissions Accounting to Support Net Zero Trade, and is Theme Lead for Market Activation on the recently announced ARC Industrial Transition Research Hub on Carbon Utilisation and Recycling.

Appointments

• Associate Director (Research) ANU Grand Challeng: Zero-Carbon Energy for the Asia-Pacific

Significant research publications

• Aisbett, E & Bonnitcha, J 2021, 'A Pareto-Improving Compensation Rule for Investment Treaties', Journal of International Economic Law, vol. 24, no. 1, pp. 181-202.
• Bonnitcha, J & Aisbett, E 2021, 'Against balancing: Revisiting the use/regulation distinction to reform liability and compensation under investment treaties', University of Michigan journal of law reform. University of Michigan. Law School, vol. 42, pp. 231-290.
• Aisbett, E, Silberberger, M & Silberberger, M 2021, 'Tariff liberalization and product standards: Regulatory chill and race to the bottom?', Regulation & Governance, vol. 15, no. 3, pp. 987-1006.
• Skovgaard Poulsen, L & Aisbett, E 2013, 'When the Claim Hits: Bilateral Investment Treaties and Bounded Rational Learning', World Politics, vol. 65, no. 2, pp. 273-313.
• Aisbett, E 2009, 'Bilateral Investment Treaties and Foreign Direct Investment: Correlation versus Causation', in Karl Sauvant and Lisa Sachs (ed.), The Effect of Treaties on Foreign Direct Investment: Bilateral Investment Treaties, Double Taxation Treaties, and Investment Flows, Oxford University Press, New York, pp. 395-437.

View more publications on the ANU Researchers website

Link to ANU researchers profile

Related websites

Zero-Carbon Energy for the Asia-Pacific Grand Challenge