Colombian Environment Minister Irene Vélez Torres has called for reform of international arbitration tribunals, saying they’re “one of the greatest obstacles” to the energy transition and favor corporate interests over sovereignty.
The protection of the Amazon is a central theme of the COP30 in Belém, Brazil. However, efforts to ensure that the Amazon is defended are at risk of instead being defunded—by investor-state dispute settlement.
The investor-state dispute settlement system, with its roots in colonialism and extractivism, is not fit for purpose in the 21st century because it prioritises the interests of foreign investors over the rights of states, human rights and the environment.
In August, a Singapore-based investor filed a case against the UK government after the High Court in London quashed a proposal for a new coal mine on climate grounds.
Du 14 au 17 juillet, des communautés locales et des représentants de mouvements sociaux nationaux et internationaux se sont réunies à Choluteca, au Honduras, pour la « Rencontre des communautés affectées par les projets énergétiques dans le sud du Honduras — Sans droits humains, il n’y a pas de souveraineté énergétique ».
In August 2025, for the second time in its history, the UK government was sued by a foreign investor under investor-state dispute settlement provisions, through the 1975 UK-Singapore bilateral investment treaty.
Between July 14 and 17, in the city of Choluteca (Honduras), more than 60 people from 20 local communities and representatives of national and international social movements gathered for the “Meeting of communities affected by energy projects in southern Honduras - Without human rights, there is no energy sovereignty.”