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Energy transition calls for faster investment treaty reforms
31-Aug-2023 UNCTAD
UNCTAD presents a new toolbox to make international investment agreements actively support the shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources.
Intra-EU investor-State ICSID arbitration: the German Federal Court of Justice’s new inadmissibility ruling
8-Aug-2023 Lexology
On 27 July 2023, the German Federal Court of Justice (German FCJ) declared three intra-EU investor-State ICSID arbitrations inadmissible under German arbitration law given their incompatibility with EU law.
RWE’s arbitration case against Dutch state over coal ban inadmissible under EU law
28-Jul-2023 SOMO
Dutch taxpayers have already incurred € 5.4 million in arbitration costs in RWE and Uniper cases.
Portugal announces withdrawal from Energy Charter Treaty
21-Jul-2023 Euractiv
Portugal’s Environment Minister Duarte Cordeiro annouced that the country has started withdrawing from the Energy Charter Treaty, in line with a proposal tabled by the European Commission two weeks ago.
EU-Latin America summit will be an environmental car crash
13-Jul-2023 EU Observer
Civil society organisations, indigenous and social movements across Latin America are already mobilising to raise their voices during the summit against these harmful trade deals.
Joint letter: Energy Ministers must support a coordinated withdrawal from the Energy Charter Treaty
11-Jul-2023 CAN Europe
We call on you to support the Commission’s proposal for a coordinated withdrawal of the EU and all its member states from the Energy Charter Treaty and welcome a discussion of the ECT among energy ministers.
UK should quit ‘climate-wrecking’ energy treaty, say official advisers
11-Jul-2023 The Guardian
Climate Change Committee recommends leaving energy charter treaty, which critics say is ‘weaponised’ by fossil fuel firms.
EU tables Energy Charter Treaty exit, citing climate concerns
10-Jul-2023 Euractiv
The European Commission proposed that EU countries jointly quit an international treaty that has been criticised for blocking efforts to fight climate change because its protection of energy investments extends to fossil fuels.
EU to propose exit from Energy Charter Treaty over climate concerns
30-Jun-2023 Reuters
The European Commission is readying a proposal for EU countries to jointly quit an international energy treaty, after some governments already pledged to leave over climate concerns.
EU in talks with Chile on raw materials ‘strategic partnership’
28-Jun-2023 Euractiv
The modernised EU-Chile trade agreement, like its sister EU-Mexico trade deal, contains a new chapter on energy and raw materials, which opens the door for deeper cooperation in those areas.
Canada’s Enerflex calls for international arbitration after Mexican court awards ex-employee more than $120-million
28-Jun-2023 The Globe and Mail
Enerflex argued the ruling defied regional trade agreements between Mexico, the United States and Canada, also calling the court’s decision “indirect expropriation” and denouncing arbitrary treatment by the Mexican state.
Between a mineral and a hard place
22-Jun-2023 TNI
In the era of the energy transition, questions of state control and power are back on the agenda in a big way.
Zenith Energy Ltd launches legal proceedings against Tunisia, seeking compensation of $48 Million
12-Jun-2023 BNN
Zenith Energy Ltd, an international energy firm, filed a lawsuit against Tunisia on Wednesday, claiming financial damages of at least $48 million.
Catch-22: Canada’s attempts to phase out fossil fuel might result in it paying the polluters
23-May-2023 The Conversation
US$20 billion: That’s how much American investors think Canadian taxpayers should fork over to compensate them for their failed bid to develop a liquefied natural gas facility in Québec.
Investors sue Costa Rica over hydroelectric plant’s expropriation
22-May-2023 The Tico Times
Three German investors have filed an investment arbitration claim against Costa Rica for the expropriation of their land for the construction of a hydroelectric power plant.
EU mulls partial exit from energy treaty over climate concerns
9-May-2023 Reuters
The European Union is considering a proposal to quit an international energy treaty that has become mired in climate change concerns, but leave an option for individual countries to stay in an updated version of the accord, a document showed.
The ‘climate killing’ clauses helping companies sue governments for climate action
3-May-2023 Yorkshire Bylines
If you’ve never heard of ISDS (investor-state dispute settlement) that’s not surprising. ISDS operates in the shadows. It’s a mechanism for solving disputes between parties in cases of foreign direct investment while offering legal protections for the investor. The investment is typically provided by a private company to a foreign ‘host state’.
A US fund declares Spain in “technical default” and claims almost 1,000 million government bonds
28-Apr-2023 Time.News
The US fund Blasket Renewable Investments has activated the “default” clause that declares Spain at “technical impact” after the Government has not yet paid the pending awards for the cuts in the premiums for renewables.
Spain tells World Bank it will not pay €2-billion ICSID awards for renewable energy debts
28-Apr-2023 Capital Madrid
The World Bank has sent a de­vas­ta­ting letter to the Spanish go­vern­ment to de­mand pay­ment of the awards that con­demn our country to com­pen­sate the in­ves­tors af­fected by the re­tro­ac­tive with­drawal of the pre­miums granted to re­ne­wable ener­gies.
Denmark to withdraw from Energy Charter Treaty
14-Apr-2023 Euractiv
Denmark will withdraw from the Energy Charter Treaty as it creates more uncertainties about investments than certainties, the Danish government announced.