ISDS Case Map
climate
The Energy Charter Treaty not only locks countries into outdated fossil fuel investments but also hampers their ability to pursue sustainable, climate-friendly energy policies.
In Bern, several hundred people on the Bundesplatz criticized the federal government, which wants to modernize the International Energy Charter Treaty that came into force in 1998. They called for an exit.
Instead of supporting sustainable development, the agreement has primarily facilitated trade in environmentally harmful goods, and has also failed to introduce effective mechanisms to address sustainability challenges.
Investor–state dispute settlements don’t just mean growing debt burdens for countries: they are also a barrier to action on the climate crisis.
Companies can sue governments for closing oilfields and mines – and the risk of huge damages is already stopping countries from passing green laws, ministers say.
The EU-Mercosur Agreement continues with the narrative that it ensures environmental clauses and climate commitments, in practice it implements measures that could divert means and resources that could otherwise be used for a genuine, just, ecological and inclusive transition.
Progressive new trade policies and agreements driven by global environmental objectives, as well as decades-old attempts through the United Nations General Assembly to reshape the global trade system and decolonize it, offer some direction.
Over 120 civil society organizations and trade unions from Indonesia and Europe today call on the Indonesian government and the EU to stop the negotiations for the Indonesia-EU free trade agreement – the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). The organizations warn that this agreement threatens the environment, climate, and the rights of women, Indigenous Peoples, workers, small farmers and fisherfolk.
CSOs in Europe and Indonesia are urging the EU and Indonesia to stop CEPA negotiations. The agreement threatens the environment, climate, and the rights of vulnerable groups, while hindering Indonesia's ability to develop its own raw materials value chain. The groups also raise concerns about privatization of energy, investor protections, and the inclusion of elements from Indonesia's "Omnibus Law," which weakens labor protections.
2024 year in review: human rights and ISDS—continued convergence of human rights and the environment
2024 shows the continued convergence of human rights and the environment in the ISDS context.
