Introduction

The North American Free Trade Agreement ('NAFTA' or 'the Agreement'), ratified in 1994, is the first free trade agreement to openly incorporate environmental provisions. Its ratification engendered a sustained debate on the effects of trade on environmental degradation that has hardly abated and has been joined by critical voices on the investment regime protected by Chapter 11. While the debate has often been monopolized by critical voices, praise has been expressed for the wealth of provisions contained in the NAFTA that make reference to environmental considerations. What has been not ...