Mining companies are continuing to face political and community headwinds in Guatemala, as authorities push on with consultations needed to lift suspensions that have crippled the industry in recent years.
More European Union countries have shown signs of impatience with the ongoing reform of the Energy Charter Treaty, which critics say impedes efforts to phase out fossil fuels, according to leaked diplomatic cables.
One of the biggest barriers will be the legal infrastructure that oil and gas companies and some coal companies have constructed to defend their investments, through treaties like the energy charter treaty.
Russia’s top lender Sberbank initiated investment arbitration proceedings against Ukraine after its parliament approved a presidential decree allowing for the forced seizure of Sberbank-owned assets in the country.
Citing the free-trade agreement between Australia and Thailand, Kingsgate, announced in November 2017 that it had filed a suit against Thailand at an international arbitration tribunal.
We estimate that countries would face up to $340 billion in legal and financial risks for canceling fossil fuel projects that are subject to treaties with ISDS clauses.
Amendments to the mining law in Slovenia which prohibit the use of any hydraulic stimulation in mining exploitation constitute further breaches of the protections established by the BIT and the ECT.
In the context of investment treaties and arbitration, states should not put private arbitrators in the driver’s seat on issues of valuation of fossil fuel assets and compensation.