Read on Twitter
A company that bet on a coal plant, in the EU, in the 2010s, is now upset it has to close by 2030 
https://twitter.com/ClimateHome/status/1263439016390778881
https://twitter.com/ClimateHome/status/1263439016390778881
Perhaps reckoning they wouldn't get much sympathy in 
courts, Uniper is seeking compensation under the Energy Charter Treaty, a 90s-era deal to encourage investment between western and former Soviet states
courts, Uniper is seeking compensation under the Energy Charter Treaty, a 90s-era deal to encourage investment between western and former Soviet states
The treaty is vague, it's old, it definitely wasn't written with climate protection in mind
Disputes go through a private arbitration process, heard by private lawyers, many of whom also have energy industry interests 
Governments have paid out $51bn to energy companies under the ECT, that we know of - there's no obligation to disclose these cases @corporateeurope
Campaigners are worried fossil fuel companies will increasingly use the threat of litigation under the ECT to water down climate ambition
@BJVerbeek @KaarinaKolle @PauldeClerck3 @ClientEarth
@BJVerbeek @KaarinaKolle @PauldeClerck3 @ClientEarth
The ECT is up for renegotiation and the European Commission has proposed to reinforce governments' right to set climate policy
That's likely to face resistance from oil-exporting member states. Even if it is adopted, it doesn't stop fossil interests from suing governments
It was notable, watching Uniper's AGM, that the majority of shareholder questions concerned climate change. They're also under fire for opening Datteln 4, a coal plant in Germany set to run until 2038
In a quirk of the story, Uniper is effectively owned by the Finnish government
The Finnish government has a majority stake in Fortum, which bought a majority of Uniper last year and replaced the top execs
This is the Finnish government that joined the international Powering Past Coal Alliance and recently set guidance for state-owned companies saying they should align with the 1.5C target in the Paris Agreement
But a Finnish official told me Fortum and Uniper are independent companies, not their problem 
This is really informative on the Energy Charter Treaty, I wish I'd come across it before I wrote the article! By @ysaheb HT @rkyte365 https://www.openexp.eu/sites/default/files/publication/files/2020-02-12_modernisation_of_the_energy_charter_treaty-presentation-final.pdf
Estimates the cost to the EU of continuing with the ECT > investment needed for the Green New Deal 
It also shows the ECT has failed to deliver on its original, non-climate related objectives. It's a 
treaty
treaty
I write this thread to encourage you to look past the somewhat dry headline and read the story. FIN https://www.climatechangenews.com/2020/05/21/uniper-uses-investment-treaty-fight-netherlands-coal-phaseout/
