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climate

‘Obsolete’ Energy Charter Treaty must be reformed or ditched, lawmakers say
8-Sep-2020 Euractiv
The 1991 Energy Charter Treaty must be profoundly overhauled in order to remove all “obsolete” provisions protecting fossil fuel investments and hindering climate action, lawmakers from across Europe said.
Japan blocks green reform of major energy investment treaty
8-Sep-2020 Climate Change News
The Japanese government is blocking reform of a treaty that allows energy companies to sue nation states when climate policies affect their profits.
How the little-known Energy Charter Treaty is holding environmental policy hostage
7-Sep-2020 Equal Times
Is it possible to take urgently needed action on climate change while simultaneously protecting the fossil fuel industry, the very cause of climate imbalance?
Green NGOs demand EU dumps controversial energy treaty
14-Jul-2020 EU Observer
Green groups have renewed their demand for the EU and member states to jointly withdraw from the controversial Energy Charter Treaty (ECT).
The obscure treaty that could kill a global green recovery
9-Jul-2020 The New Republic
The Energy Charter Treaty, with 53 signatories, allows energy companies to sue states that make their business unprofitable.
Corporations to sue states for pandemic billions
9-Jul-2020 The Ecologist
Corporations are busy weaponising obscure legal instruments to sue government for their actions to save lives and jobs during the coronavirus crisis.
World’s biggest trade deal in trouble over EU anger at Brazil deforestation
8-Jul-2020 Mongabay
The European Union-Mercosur free trade agreement faces growing opposition from European national governments, EU parliamentarians, and non-profit organizations, in addition to Latin American entities, putting its ratification at risk.
EU must end investment protection in the fossil sector
6-Jul-2020 Euractiv
The Energy Charter Treaty, which dates back to the 1990s, severely restricts Europe’s ability to change regulations in the energy sector, with many EU member states facing court actions worth billions of euros, write a group of MEPs.
EU-Mercosur deal will have devastating impact on climate, NGOs warn
3-Jul-2020 Euractiv
While the agreement still has to be approved by the European Parliament and Council, farmers and environmental NGOs remain disappointed.
Countries serious about climate change should leave the Energy Charter Treaty, says former ECT official
3-Jul-2020 bilaterals.org
Interview with Yamina Saheb, former head of unit in the Energy Charter Treaty Secretariat .
New NAFTA trade deal deepens oil and gas dependency during climate crisis
1-Jul-2020 Desmog
The deal provides loopholes for oil, gas, and mining companies to operate across borders, and paves the way for US companies to export even more fracked natural gas across the border into Mexico.
Planned EU trade deal with Mercosur threatens climate, environmental protection and human rights
29-Jun-2020 CIDSE
The agreement could have serious ecological and human rights repercussions, new study warns.
The environmental bias of trade policy
5-Jun-2020 Berkeley Haas
Most countries have implicitly created a carbon subsidy in trade policy. Using trade policy negotiations to decrease this environmental bias of trade policy could help address climate change.
Anchoring climate and environmental protection in EU trade agreements
4-Jun-2020 Power Shift
How trade agreements could contribute to a more sustainable world economy.
Companies sue states for ­ climate-protection measures
4-Jun-2020 D+C
On the basis of the Energy Charter Treaty, companies are suing countries for damages when the latter decide to phase out or limit the use of fossil fuels.
The true cost of the EU-Mercosur trade deal
26-May-2020 Friends of the Earth Europe
The EU-Mercosur trade deal comes at a tremendous expense for people and the planet. Dire consequences are looming both on regional and global levels.
Coal generator uses investment treaty to fight Netherlands coal phaseout
22-May-2020 Climate Change News
Uniper is using a controversial investor dispute system to claim up to €1 billion compensation for being forced to close a coal power station early.
Farmers urge UK government to protect food standards in post-Brexit trade bill
22-May-2020 The Guardian
Union and consumer groups warn post-Brexit trade policy must hold food imports to same standards as UK.
The unknown climate-killer deal we’ll have to tackle next
18-May-2020 Friends of the Earth Europe
The Energy Charter Treaty takes an axe to climate action.
Risky business: Uniper’s potential investor-state dispute against the Dutch coal ban
18-Mar-2020 EJIL: Talk!
While policies aiming to phase out coal are necessary to tackle climate change, they may give rise to legal claims from companies whose investments are adversely affected by the low-carbon energy transition.