ISDS Case Map
climate
The Council of the EU adopted a historic decision to withdraw the European Union from the Energy Charter Treaty, an international investment treaty from the 1990s increasingly used by the fossil fuel industry to sue governments over their climate and energy policies.
A serious overhaul of how we run the economy and live our lives is needed to tackle the climate crisis – and there are signs that decision makers are recognising the urgent need for a ‘green transition’: a massive shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy systems.
The EU is aggressively pursuing critical minerals globally to benefit from the energy transition, securing access via trade agreements and partnerships. Failure to address resource overconsumption risks reinforcing inequalities and intensifying extractivism.
Companies have long used international treaties to try to prevent Global South countries from asserting economic sovereignty. In recent decades, corporations have used such laws to stymie European governments’ attempts to tackle the climate crisis.
The European Parliament voted today largely in favour of the Commission’s proposal for the European Union to withdraw from the Energy Charter Treaty, a landmark move that campaigners across Europe have been demanding for years.
In a decisive committee vote, MEPs have supported the European Union's exit from the Energy Charter Treaty over concerns its global investor-state dispute settlement system has been weaponised to sue governments over climate policy.
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Trade deals are used to extract valuable resources from the Global South - but a recent victory shows we can make a difference.
Many farmers are fighting against deregulation: namely, free trade agreements that set unequal competition, the dumping of cheap produce on their markets, and the dismantling of market support.
The European Commission’s plan to withdraw the bloc from the Energy Charter Treaty while allowing member states the right to remain if they choose was presented to Parliament.
Trade agreements shape the global minerals transition by determining access to essential raw materials, influencing investment decisions, and enforcing environmental and social regulations. This article examines the underlying agenda of trade agreements in shaping the global minerals transition, including how they affect the distribution of benefits and risks.
