ABSTRACT
Growing evidence of the upheavals of Anthropocene has done little to moderate humanity's appetite for natural resources, from Canadian oil sands to Congolese minerals. With its underlying values of free trade and economic growth, international law generally enables restricts investment in natural resources. The main functions of legal governance of natural resources have been to control access and levy royalties and rents. The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative promotes public awareness of how states manage their oil, gas and mineral resources with hope that greater transparency can reduce corruption and mismanagement of such resources. Another global initiative to tackle misguided natural resources development is Principles for Responsible Agricultural Investment that Respects Rights, Livelihoods and Resources, inaugurated in 2010. It sets standards for financial investors in farming sector to reduce land grabbing and other depredations on host communities. The Climate Principles are another governance gesture attempting to fill gaps and lacunae in international and domestic law in regulating investment in fossil fuels.
