Topic: Climate change
Spain announces withdrawal from ECT
Spain says it is withdrawing from the Energy Charter Treaty because of climate concerns, a week after the lower chamber of Poland’s parliament voted near-unanimously to exit the treaty.
13 October 2022
Poland moves to exit ECT
The Polish government has prepared draft legislation to withdraw the country from the Energy Charter Treaty, citing the need to comply with EU law and a lack of progress in efforts to modernise the treaty.
02 September 2022
How Italy’s ban on offshore drilling fell foul of the Energy Charter Treaty
EXCLUSIVE: GAR unpacks how Italy’s decision to ban offshore drilling near its coastline led to the state being ordered to pay more than €190 million plus interest to a UK company for breaching the Energy Charter Treaty.
26 August 2022
Uniper to withdraw ECT claim as part of German bailout
Uniper says it has agreed to withdraw a controversial Energy Charter Treaty claim against the Netherlands over climate change legislation as a condition of a €15 billion bailout from the German government, as the company struggles to cope with the steep drop in supplies of Russian gas.
25 July 2022
Reactions roll in to ECT modernisation
Practitioners have shared their insights with GAR after contracting parties to the Energy Charter Treaty agreed to a sweep of “modernisations”, including an option to withdraw protections for fossil fuel investments and amendments to prevent intra-EU claims.
29 June 2022
GAR Live Miami: has the ESG era already begun?
The era of ESG is here already and will be a “future battleground for disputes”, the Latin Lawyer and GAR Live Arbitration Summit in Miami heard this week.
27 May 2022
Spain hit with another ECT award
A divided ICSID tribunal has ordered Spain to pay almost €33 million to a Mexican billionaire’s company over cuts to the state’s renewable energy subsidy regime.
10 May 2022
Study finds green transition could prompt US$340 billion in ISDS claims
Government action to stop global warming could trigger more than US$340 billion in claims from oil and gas investors, according to a new study calling for an “abolitionist approach” to investment treaties.
10 May 2022
Towards greener arbitrations: carbon footprint and costs of in-person and virtual hearings compared
Maguelonne de Brugiere, Helin Laufer and Luke Hard report on a Herbert Smith Freehills case study of the difference in the carbon footprint and costs of in-person and virtual hearings in international arbitrations, unsurprisingly finding that virtual hearings are significantly less carbon-intensive and cheaper.
12 April 2022
“Regulatory chill” of ISDS stalling fight against global warming, says report
A new UN report that says action is needed “now or never” to avoid disastrous global warming has warned that investment agreements may be causing a “regulatory chill” delaying countries from phasing out fossil fuels.
08 April 2022