Skip to content

Matthias Petel
S.J.D. Candidate
mpetel at sjd.law.harvard.edu

Dissertation

Sovereign Debt as a Site of Struggle for Climate Justice

My dissertation examines the interplay between sovereign debt and climate change, focusing on the systemic challenges faced by countries in the Global South. These nations are trapped in a vicious cycle where debt dependence exacerbates climate vulnerability and limits their ability to invest in mitigation and adaptation measures. This dynamic, driven by unequal global financial structures, perpetuates reliance on fossil fuels and heightens socio-economic inequalities. While much scholarly attention has focused on the “loss and damage” framework, which frames climate reparations as voluntary financial transfers from the Global North, I argue that such mechanisms fail to address the structural roots of economic subordination. Regardless of the amounts pledged, these payments do not challenge the core-periphery dynamics of global finance and the asymmetrical financing conditions that disadvantage developing nations. I then explore alternative approaches, such as the Bridgetown Initiative and the Dakar Declaration, which tie climate justice demands with proposals for broader reforms to the global financial order. These initiatives represent two distinct strategies: negotiating within the current legal framework or advocating for a radical “delinking” from existing institutions. By analyzing these efforts, my research highlights their contrasting legal perspectives and strategies, shedding light on how international law operates as both a constraint and a tool for contesting global financial inequalities in the face of the climate crisis.

Fields of Research and Supervisors

  • Money and the Governance of Capitalism with Professor Christine Desan, Harvard Law School, Principal Faculty Supervisor
  • Law and Economic Thought with Professor Duncan Kennedy, Harvard Law School
  • Critical Theory of Finance with Professor Daniela Gabor, UWE Bristol

Additional Research Interests

  • Human Rights and Climate Litigation
  • Law and Political Economy

Education

  • Harvard Law School, S.J.D. Candidate 2021-Present
  • Harvard Law School, LL.M. 2020-2021 (requirements fulfilled, degree waived)
  • University of Louvain, Master of Law, 2015-2017
  • University of Saint-Louis Brussels, Bachelier en droit, 2012-2015

Representative Publications

Additional Information

  • Languages: English, French

Last Updated: January 15, 2025