CLIMATE TALKS SPARK ACTION AGAINST INVESTMENT TREATIES FAVORING FOSSIL FUEL CORPORATIONS

In advance of the global climate negotiations taking place in Egypt, several countries announced important actions to curb the power of the fossil fuel industry.For decades now, a global web of international investment agreements has given corporations excessive powers to block government policies t...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inForeign Policy in Focus p. 1
Main Author Perez-Rocha, Manuel
Format Report
LanguageEnglish
Published Washington Inter-Hemispheric Resource Center Press 17.11.2022
Subjects
Action
Charters
Climate change
Companies
Conflict resolution
Democracy
Developing countries
Energy
Energy industry
Fossil fuels
Free trade
Government
Investments
LDCs
Litigation
Neoliberalism
Supranationalism
Trade agreements
Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement
Treaties
Tribunals & commissions
Canada
Colombia
United States > US
Egypt
Mexico
Chile
Spain
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:In advance of the global climate negotiations taking place in Egypt, several countries announced important actions to curb the power of the fossil fuel industry.For decades now, a global web of international investment agreements has given corporations excessive powers to block government policies they don't like. Through "investor-state dispute settlement" mechanisms, these agreements grant corporations the right to sue governments in unaccountable supranational tribunals, demanding huge payouts in retaliation for actions that might reduce the value of their investments. Corporations are able to file such lawsuits over a wide array of government actions - including actions designed to protect people and the planet.Poland, Italy, France, the Netherlands, and Spain have now announced they will withdraw from one of these anti-democratic agreements: the Energy Charter Treaty, a 1991 pact signed by about 50 countries. The ECT offers special protections to oil, gas, and mining corporations and energy companies, undermining governments' abilities to address climate change.
ISSN:1524-1939