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ECT

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.
The termination of bilateral investment treaties in the EU – one agreement to end them all?
11-May-2020 TaylorWessing
On 5 May 2020, 23 Member States of the EU entered into an Agreement for the Termination of Bilateral Investment Treaties between the Member States of the European Union.
Modernisation of the Energy Charter Treaty
10-May-2020 OpenExp
A global tragedy at a high cost for taxpayers.
EU plans to reform Energy Charter Treaty falling short, activists say
30-Apr-2020 Euractiv
An updated European Commission proposal to reform the Energy Charter Treaty is falling short of what’s needed to reinstate governments’ “right to regulate” in areas like climate change, activists say.
Despite controversy, the Energy Charter Treaty is silently being pushed into Africa
21-Apr-2020 Euractiv
Joining the Energy Charter Treaty could cost developing countries money that is urgently needed to fight the COVID-19 pandemic and economic crisis.
Silent expansion
15-Apr-2020 CEO
Many countries, particularly in the global south, are in the process of joining the Energy Charter Treaty despite the sweeping powers it grants to foreign investors.
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.
The Energy Charter Treaty threatens the European Green Deal, NGOs denounce
16-Mar-2020 Glasgow Guardian
Civil society activists and scientific experts denounce the unsustainable practice of investment disputes under the Energy Charter Treaty.
Court reinstates order for Russia to pay $50 bln over Yukos
18-Feb-2020 New York Times
A Dutch appeals court reinstated an international arbitration panel’s order that it should pay $50 billion compensation to shareholders in former oil company Yukos.
Vattenfall procedure has cost almost 20 million euros
22-Jan-2020 WirtschaftsWoche
The energy company Vattenfall is demanding compensation from the Federal Republic of Germany. The costs for the arbitration proceedings could exceed 20 million euros this year.
Agreement for the termination of bilateral investment treaties between the Member States of the European Union (EU draft, Nov 2019)
8-Jan-2020 IAReporter
As leaked by IAReporter
Beyond repair? The Energy Charter Treaty
16-Dec-2019 FOEE
An obscure investment agreement, the Energy Charter Treaty, threatens to undermine bold climate action to transform Europe’s energy system.
Sweden sued for $1.8 billion due to environmental regulation
13-Dec-2019 Handelsgranskaren
For the first time, Sweden has recieved a notice of arbitration for banning the exploration and mining of uranium.
EU governments under pressure to quit Energy Charter Treaty
10-Dec-2019 Forbes
Climate campaigners are demanding that European Union countries pull out of the treaty unless they can negotiate an end to the pact’s investor-state dispute mechanism.
Open letter on the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT)
9-Dec-2019 ECT’s Dirty Secrets
We – 278 environmental, climate, consumer, development, and trade related civil society groups, as well as trade unions – believe that the ECT is incompatible with the implementation of the Paris Climate Agreement.
Spain offers green energy investors incentives to drop lawsuits
27-Nov-2019 Reuters
The government will offer subsidies which will allow investors that abandon litigation to maintain their current profitability rate of 7.39% until 2031.
Aura Energy files claim against Sweden to recover losses following uranian mining ban
12-Nov-2019 Stock Market Wire
Aura Energy lodged a claim against Sweden to recover the losses incurred from the Haggan uranium project following the country’s decision to ban uranian mining.
It’s time to scrap the Energy Charter Treaty
30-Oct-2019 Euractiv
The EU taxpayer is the main loser from the continuation of the Energy Charter Treaty which locks Europe into carbon and energy injustice at a high cost to taxpayers.
Nord Stream 2 sues EU using ISDS
27-Sep-2019 Forbes
The company building the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea today sued the European Union over new gas rules it says are threatening its investments in the project.
The Energy Charter Treaty (ECT): Assessing its geopolitical, climate and financial impacts
23-Sep-2019 OpenEXP
The Energy Charter Treaty is a multilateral agreement that grants binding protection for foreign investors and includes also binding provisions for free trade and freedom of transit of energy materials and products.