Francisca Soto Monteverde is a PhD student at King’s College London under the joint supervision of Dr Leslie-Anne Duvic-Paoli and Dr Yael Liftsitz. Her research explores the ways in which Transnational Environmental Law addresses the socio-environmental implications of decarbonisation in developing countries, by looking at the global environmental governance of the Lithium industry in Argentina, Bolivia and Chile (Lithium Triangle) which is funded by The Dickson Poon School of Law School Studentship.

Francisca obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Legal and Social Sciences from University of Chile and holds an LLM in Environmental Law and Policy from University College London. Prior to joining KCL, Francisca served as a legal advisor to the Ministry General Secretariat of the Presidency (2014-2018) and worked as legal rapporteur at the Environmental Court of Santiago (2020-2023).

PhD Thesis

The Lithium Triangle: a socio-legal analysis of its normative governance

The global decarbonisation process is expected to depend heavily on the extraction of minerals and metals. Lithium is a crucial element in this endeavour, as it is essential for the production of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), which are widely used in the transport and electricity sectors. More than half of the world’s lithium reserves are found in South America, particularly in an area known as "The Lithium Triangle," which encompasses territories in Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile.

My research investigates the transnational normative landscape governing the extraction of Lithium for the production of LIBs, or the upstream segment of the supply chain. The aim is to map the norms that regulate lithium mining activities, how these regulatory frameworks are manifested in real-world contexts, and how key actors within the industry perceive the distribution of the associated socio-environmental burdens and benefits.

Joint Supervisors

Dr Leslie-Anne Duvic-Paoli and Dr Yael Liftsitz

Research Interests

• Environmental Law (International, Transnational)
• Climate Change Law
• Governance of critical minerals

Teaching

• Environmental Law