ISDS Case Map
climate
Withdrawal from the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) is the only realistic way for the European Union to fix the outdated treaty’s incompatibility with the EU’s own laws, a new in-depth legal study has found.
For the first time, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has warned that climate action is being jeopardised by trade agreements which give global corporations the right to sue governments.
From March 1 to 4, 2022, ECT parties met for their 11th round of negotiations for a possible reform of the treaty but the meeting was overshadowed by rising energy prices and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The question is whether states wish to cede a significant portion of their sovereignty to ISDS tribunals, giving them the authority to decide which state measures taken in the public interest are legitimate.
Environmentalists and energy experts have been warning for years over an obscure trade deal that could lock Europe into decades of fossil fuel use.
Existing investment treaties do not and cannot advance climate goals.
In 2021-22, Climate Change Counsel conducted a study of arbitral awards rendered under the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT).
From a climate perspective, the expected reform outcome is a failure. No Contracting Party will end investment protection for fossil fuels in a timeline that is necessary to align with the Paris Agreement.
Governments need to repair the incoherence between climate objectives and the emissions-intensive trajectory of the global economy.
The German government has been worried about being sued by the fossil fuel companies behind the Russian gas pipeline under the Energy Charter Treaty.
