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climate

Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) reform: Why it has failed to deliver on the EU’s own objectives
4-Mar-2022 Both Ends
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.
Trade agreements must be climate-focused, new IPCC report shows
1-Mar-2022 Policy Options
Governments need to repair the incoherence between climate objectives and the emissions-intensive trajectory of the global economy.
An energy investment treaty has been holding Nord Stream 2 hostage
28-Feb-2022 Climate Home News
The German government has been worried about being sued by the fossil fuel companies behind the Russian gas pipeline under the Energy Charter Treaty.
The EU-Mercosur free trade agreement: A critical analysis and an alternative
23-Feb-2022 TNI
The EU-Mercosur trade agreement leads to the destruction of nature, violation of land rights of farmers and Indigenous people and loss of industrial jobs in the Mercosur countries.
A Koched-up NAFTA lawsuit
22-Feb-2022 CCPA
Koch claims that Ontario’s abrupt cancellation of its cap-and-trade system in 2018 violated the NAFTA Chapter 11 minimum standard of treatment and expropriation clauses.
Canada’s Alberta province files trade challenge over scrapped Keystone XL pipeline
10-Feb-2022 Reuters
The Canadian province of Alberta formally initiated a trade challenge to recover its investment in the Keystone XL oil pipeline, which was scrapped in 2021 after the United States cancelled a key permit.
UK, Switzerland accused of undermining EU green treaty reforms
26-Jan-2022 Climate Home News
Campaigners say the UK and Switzerland are defending fossil fuel interests in Energy Charter Treaty modernisation talks to tempt firms to relocate their HQs.
Investor–state disputes in the fossil fuel industry
24-Jan-2022 IISD
The fossil fuel industry is the most litigious industry in the ISDS system by number of cases, accounting for almost 20% of the total known ISDS cases across all sectors.
Dangerous man, dangerous deals
24-Jan-2022 Greenpeace
Why the EU should not strengthen relations with Bolsonaro.
Regional trade agreement burdens global carbon emissions mitigation
24-Jan-2022 Nature
Complete tariff elimination among RCEP members would increase the yearly global CO2 emissions from fuel combustion by about 3.1%, doubling the annual average growth rate of global CO2 emissions in the last decade.
Cop26 targets pushed back under threat of being sued
17-Jan-2022 Capital Monitor
Countries party to the Energy Charter Treaty are under yet more pressure to reform the agreement following the Cop26 climate summit, as they weigh the benefits of climate action against the likelihood of getting sued.
Palm oil attacks? Why EU’s latest sustainability plans risk alienating Indonesia amid free trade talks
12-Jan-2022 Food Navigator Asia
Palm oil industry experts have warned that the European Union’s (EU) latest proposed regulations on deforestation carry major risk of upsetting Indonesia amidst ongoing free-trade negotiations.
Energy Charter Treaty: stalled reform fuels EU fears for climate
21-Dec-2021 Investigate Europe
European governments are losing patience in talks to modernise the controversial Energy Charter Treaty (ECT), according to leaked documents.
When free trade is not free
21-Dec-2021 Mail & Guardian
If the states of the world take seriously their own rhetorical commitments to climate change mitigation, job creation, and sustainable development, they must reject the free trade paradigm.
Investment governance in Africa to support climate resilience and decarbonization
13-Dec-2021 Afronomics Law
African nations should not be expected to take the lead in addressing a climate emergency they did not create. The priority for Africa is to receive support and investment to build resilience and adapt to climate impacts.
Greenpeace urges Canada to drop trade deal to save the Amazon
1-Dec-2021 National Observer
An environmental group is pleading with the Canadian government to reject a controversial trade deal it says would further fuel deforestation in the Amazon in a new letter addressed to Canada’s minister of foreign affairs.
The World Bank can’t be trusted to stand up to big fossil fuel companies
24-Nov-2021 Counter Punch
Extractive companies are the most frequent users of the investor-state dispute settlement system (ISDS), making up 29 percent of all ICSID claims in fiscal year 2021.
Keystone pipeline developers seek $15 billion from US for cancellation
23-Nov-2021 BNN
Developers of Keystone XL are seeking to recoup more than $15 billion in damages connected to President Joe Biden’s decision to yank a permit for the border-crossing oil pipeline even after construction began.
Governments risk ’trillions’ in fossil fuel climate litigation
16-Nov-2021 France 24
Governments which enact climate legislation risk being sued for trillions of dollars by fossil fuel companies seeking compensation for lost revenue and stranded assets.
Campaign win: Australia cuts ties with Energy Charter Treaty (ECT)
8-Nov-2021 AFTINET
In a significant step forward in the campaign against Investor-State Dispute Settlements (ISDS), Australia has announced its withdrawal from its signatory status to the Energy Charter Treaty.