energy
The Energy Charter Treaty, with 53 signatories, allows energy companies to sue states that make their business unprofitable.
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.
Interview with Yamina Saheb, former head of unit in the Energy Charter Treaty Secretariat .
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.
On June 11, 2020, an ICSID ad hoc committee issued a unanimous decision to annul a €128 million award against Spain in its entirety.
The Supreme Court of the Netherlands has agreed to consider Russia’s appeal against a lower court ruling, which awarded multi-billion-dollar compensation to former shareholders of the defunct Russian oil giant, Yukos.
The ICSID has lifted the suspension on the execution of the €290 million award NextEra obtained a year ago.
Joining the Energy Charter Treaty could cost developing countries money that is urgently needed to fight Covid-19 and a loaming economic crisis. The Energy Charter Treaty has become increasingly controversial.
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.
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.
Wealthy corporations may use trade courts to keep public health measures from cutting into their profits.
Cyprus-based offshore EP Wind Project (Rom) Six Ltd claims that Romania has breached the Energy Charter Treaty.
The dispute with Crystallex follows a ruling by the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (Icsid), an international arbitration institution set up by the World Bank.
The COVID-19 pandemic has led States to adopt various public health measures that adversely affect foreign investors and exacerbate broader economic issues. In this climate, there is significant potential for disputes under the ECT.
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.
The Phase One trade deal had China committing to $30 billion in energy purchases. But US energy exports to China actually shrank by 33% in Q1.
Shareholders in the now defunct Russian oil giant Yukos have seized Netherlands-based assets of two well-known vodka brands controlled by the Russian state in their most recent legal move to obtain $57 billion in damages from Moscow.
On February 18, The Hague Court of Appeal reinstated an order of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, which obliged Russia to pay more than $50 bln to the companies associated with former Yukos shareholders in 2014.
The measures would face legal challenges under Mexico’s commitments not just under the outgoing NAFTA but also its successor, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, an industry source said.
The Energy Charter Treaty takes an axe to climate action.
