{"id":99089,"date":"2026-04-16T12:07:39","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T10:07:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/?p=99089"},"modified":"2026-04-16T17:40:39","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T15:40:39","slug":"isds-briefing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/fr\/isds-briefing\/","title":{"rendered":"Europe Must Address ISDS as a systemic barrier to a Just Transition"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wpb-content-wrapper\"><div class=\"vc_row wpb_row vc_row-fluid wpex-relative\"><div class=\"wpb_column vc_column_container vc_col-sm-12\"><div class=\"vc_column-inner\"><div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n\t<div class=\"wpb_text_column wpb_content_element\" >\n\t\t<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<p><em>R\u00e8glement des diff\u00e9rends entre investisseurs et \u00c9tats (RDIE) cr\u00e9ant une barri\u00e8re syst\u00e9mique \u00e0 une transition juste, y compris certains aspects de la transition loin des combustibles fossiles. Current discussions around fossil fuel phase-out create a key opportunity to make progress on addressing this barrier.\u00a0 Civil society organisations are calling on European governments to explore and act on collectively disengaging from ISDS.<\/em><\/p>\n<h2>ISDS as a barrier to a just transition (Le RDIE comme barri\u00e8re \u00e0 une transition juste)<\/h2>\n<p>Investor-State Dispute Settlement is a provision in investment treaties that allows investors to sue countries for measures they claim harm their expected profits. These cases are brought before private tribunaux, souvent in response to government policies enacted in the public interest. Rechercher des politiques may include actions taken to meet climate goals, such as ending fossil fuel production or limiting exploration permits.<\/p>\n<p>Beyond climate goals, ISDS creates a serious constraint on national sovereignty and the policy space that countries need to address the wide range of challenges that come with growing geopolitical uncertainty. Of the $114 milliards<a href=\"#_ftn1\" name=\"_ftnref1\"><sup>[1]<\/sup><\/a> in public funds known to have been paid to investors through ISDS cases, the majority-more than $87 billions-has gone to companies in the fossil fuel sector. ISDS awards can reach into the billions and represent a significant portion of national budgets, particularly in lower-income countries. This places added strain on public finances and weakens governments\u2019 ability to address other urgent priorities, such as climate change adaptation.<\/p>\n<p>Cases faced by European countries include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>British oil company Rockhopper sued Italy<a href=\"#_ftn2\" name=\"_ftnref2\"><sup>[2]<\/sup><\/a> and was awarded more than six times what it invested after Italy banned oil drilling near the coast following public outrage.<\/li>\n<li>The Swiss energy company AET is suing Germany over the closure of a coal power station as part of Germany\u2019s coal phase-out, asking for more than three times what it invested<a href=\"#_ftn3\" name=\"_ftnref3\"><sup>[3]<\/sup><\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>The UK faces a claim from an investor in a proposed coal mine that was cancelled after a British High Court ruled against it on climate grounds<a href=\"#_ftn4\" name=\"_ftnref4\"><sup>[4]<\/sup><\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>The Jersey-registered private equity firm Klesch is suing the EU, Germany and Denmark over the windfall tax on excess energy company profits introduced after the energy price spike in 2022<a href=\"#_ftn5\" name=\"_ftnref5\"><sup>[5]<\/sup><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The amounts paid out in fossil fuel ISDS cases are, on average, much higher (over $600 millions) than awards in ISDS overall ($126 millions). Once tribunauxs issue such awards, they are enforceable almost anywhere in the world, giving investors a means to claim payment even if a country resists enforcement. ISDS thus poses a major barrier to countries\u2019 policy and fiscal space to reduce or eliminate fossil fuel production, consumption, licensing and subsidies in line with their international legal obligations. ISDS obstructs a just transition by allowing fossil fuel companies to challenge liability for extraction-related social and environmental harms, evade accountability for legacy pollution, and block enforcement of corporate responsibility measures or court rulings. In this way, ISDS directly undermines a just and responsible phase-out of fossil fuels. The fossil fuel and mining sectors have the largest share of cases, with recent years showing an increase in claims arising from investments in minerals considered \u2018critical\u2019 for the green transition.<\/p>\n<p>The problem goes deeper than a financial burden. Le RDIE peut donc souvent avoir un effet de \u00abchilling\u00bb sur la mise en \u0153uvre des politiques, y compris sur la mise en \u0153uvre des politiques visant \u00e0 se conformer aux obligations internationales en mati\u00e8re de climat. Recherche threats have been linked to government decisions to backtrack on ambitious climate policies<a href=\"#_ftn6\" name=\"_ftnref6\"><sup>[6]<\/sup><\/a>, (Vermillion, France), the Danish government\u2019s decision not to collect tax from a fossil fuel investor ( Klesch v EU, Denmark and Germany) and have been used by fossil fuel investors to leverage disproportionate financial payouts from governments over fossil fuel phase out measures (lignite coal, Allemagne). Officiels gouvernementaux au Danemark<a href=\"#_ftn7\" name=\"_ftnref7\"><sup>[7]<\/sup><\/a> et Nouvelle-Z\u00e9lande<a href=\"#_ftn8\" name=\"_ftnref8\"><sup>[8]<\/sup><\/a> have previously publicly admitted that their countries\u2019 membership of treaties with ISDS has held back those countries from adoptering more ambitious climate policies<\/p>\n<p>Multiple UN bodies have raised fundamental concerns over ISDS, including the 2022 IPCC report<a href=\"#_ftn9\" name=\"_ftnref9\"><sup>[9]<\/sup><\/a> Rapports sp\u00e9ciaux de l'ONU, as well as hundreds of economic and legal experts and civil society organisations. The International Court of Justice\u2019s Advisory Opinion in 2025 has emphasised that investment treaties must be interpreted in harmony with international climate law.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Les pays europ\u00e9ens<\/strong> are prominent as home states of investors taking ISDS claims. European countries \u2013 the UK, Netherlands, Germany, France, and Spain among them \u2013 account for a disproportionate share of the treaties, cases (as a home state) and climate risk arising from ISDS as a whole<a href=\"#_ftn10\" name=\"_ftnref10\"><sup>[10]<\/sup><\/a>. Those same countries have also faced ISDS claims reaching into the millions and billions over climate and other measures. European involvement in the ISDS system thus has the impact of thwarting more ambitious climate action in Europe and across the globe.<\/p>\n<h2>2) What governments can do about it \u2013 as well as examples of countries that have taken action on ISDS<\/h2>\n<p>Many countries, including economies well integrated into global value chains, do not have investment treaty networks. There is no evidence to suggest that ISDS is necessary to attract foreign direct investment. A 2020 meta-analysis found \u201crobust evidence that the effect of international investment agreements [on FDI] is so small as to be considered zero.\u201d<a href=\"#_ftn11\" name=\"_ftnref11\"><sup>[11]<\/sup><\/a> As such, ISDS creates a significant financial risk and drastically limits policy space for no tangible benefit.<\/p>\n<p>Growing numbers of states are demonstrating that withdrawal from ISDS is feasible. \u00c9tats membres de l'UE ont annul\u00e9 leurs trait\u00e9s d'investissement mutuel. Many EU countries, along with the UK, Iceland and Norway, have exited or are withdrawing from the Energy Charter Treaty, the most used treaty for ISDS claims. The European Commission is urging EU countries that remain parties to the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) to exit the Treaty without delay.<\/p>\n<p>En 2022, l\u2019Australie a adopt\u00e9 une politique nationale visant \u00e0 exclure les m\u00e9canismes de RDIE de tous les nouveaux trait\u00e9s et de la r\u00e9forme pure et simple des m\u00e9canismes de RDIE existants. Australia is currently pursuing the renegotiation of treaties with ISDS with a number of European countries. South Africa, India, Indonesia, Ecuador, Tanzania, Bolivia, and New Zealand have all taken steps to move away from ISDS. En March 2026, Pr\u00e9sident Petro of Colombia, l'h\u00f4te de la 2026 Santa Marta Conference, announced that Colombia will leave the international arbitration system<a href=\"#_ftn12\" name=\"_ftnref12\"><sup>[12]<\/sup><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>These are important developments, but there remains much to do. Many treaties remain untouched, and offer corporations the chance to raise the cost of or stall progress on the just transition in the name of profit.\u00a0 Countries can and should pursue the cancellation of their bilat\u00e9ral investment treaties with ISDS. However, given that ISDS is included in around 2500 investment treaties globally, coordination among states to pursue treaty termination would prove a faster, more efficient and effective solution.<\/p>\n<p>Coordinated action on ISDS could also help neutralise the effects of<strong> \u2018sunset clauses\u2019.<\/strong> Sunset clauses are terms written into treaties that state that the terms of the treaty can remain in place for a period of time after a party to a treaty leaves \u2013 souvent entre 5 et 20 ans. This can mean that investors are able to sue countries long after a country has exited a treaty, continuing to undermine states\u2019 regulatory capacity. Several cases currently underway against European countries are being taken using the ECT despite those countries having already formalised their exit. If countries mutually agree to terminate their treaties and neutralise the sunset clauses, this scenario can be avoided.<\/p>\n<h2>3) Outlining a model for collective disengagement \u2013 an ISDS-Free Alliance<\/h2>\n<p>Currently, there is no forum where states can collectively address their concerns about the barriers that ISDS creates to climate action. (Discussions sur la r\u00e9forme avec la CNUDCI)<a href=\"#_ftn13\" name=\"_ftnref13\"><sup>[13]<\/sup><\/a> Groupe de travail III, et l'OCDE<a href=\"#_ftn14\" name=\"_ftnref14\"><sup>[14]<\/sup><\/a> are insufficiently ambitious in their scope and timelines, while the structural barriers for Global South countries, which face the majority of ISDS claims, to participation in UNCITRAL proceedings have been observed<a href=\"#_ftn15\" name=\"_ftnref15\"><sup>[15]<\/sup><\/a>.) The initiative for the \u201cFirst Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels\u201d in Colombia in April 2026, and the Brazilian Presidencies COP Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels (TAFF) Roadmap create important opportunities to develop a consensus and generate momentum towards collective action to terminate or exit treaties with ISDS. The Conference is an ideal forum to launch a coalition of governments to explore collective disengagement from ISDS, and to neutralise the impact of sunset clauses.<\/p>\n<p>Cancelling or exiting treaties with ISDS, while neutralising sunset clauses, is the only effective way of dealing with the risk of ISDS. Civil society organisations and academics are calling on governments to begin building a coalition of governments committed to freeing themselves from all forms of ISDS.\u00a0 A group of countries working together could launch a coalition to explore bilaterally cancelling treaties or renegotiating to remove ISDS, to develop <em>inter se<\/em> agreements to neutralise sunset clauses, and negotiate collectively to remove ISDS or cancel agreements with other countries.<\/p>\n<p>Members of such a coalition could be expected to;<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Commit to not signing any new ISDS agreements<\/li>\n<li>Cancel treaties with ISDS, or renegotiate treaties to remove ISDS, between the governments involved, in ways that address \u2018sunset clauses\u2019<\/li>\n<li>Engage with other (non-member) countries to support further potential for stepping away from ISDS<\/li>\n<li>Including provisions on cancelling ISDS in a future Fossil Fuel Treaty<\/li>\n<li>Initiate discussions for a multilat\u00e9ral treaty to bring about a world free from ISDS<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2>Le r\u00f4le de l'Europe<\/h2>\n<p>European countries are among those with the deepest involvement in the ISDS system, and where action to address ISDS is most urgently needed. Today, a number of European countries have also voiced strong support for phasing out fossil fuels and taken steps to move away from ISDS by exiting the Energy Charter Treaty. It is time to recognise the inconsistency between a dense ISDS regime and a commitment to a just transition \u2013 and to act decisively to dismantle ISDS.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to the recommendations above, first movers in Europe can take a leading role by:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Encouraging broad and high-level participation in conferences aiming to Transition Away from Fossil Fuels, and the ISDS discussions to be held there among fellow European countries;<\/li>\n<li>Supporting the development of an EU position and fossil fuel phaseout roadmap that includes a commitment to disengage from all forms of ISDS;<\/li>\n<li>Accepter la suppression des trait\u00e9s sur une base mutuelle o\u00f9 il est demand\u00e9 par les partenaires de traitement dans un temps<\/li>\n<li>To withdraw from the ECT if still a member, and for all countries that have withdrawn to start developing an inter se agreement between EU and non-EU countries to neutralise the ECT\u2019s sunset clause.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><strong>Pour plus d'informations<\/strong>:<\/h4>\n<p>Fabian Flues, responsable de la politique d\u2019investissement, <a href=\"mailto:fabian.flues@power-shift.de\">fabian.flues@power-shift.de\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref1\" name=\"_ftn1\"><sup>[1]<\/sup><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.globalisdstracker.org\/database\/\">https:\/\/www.globalisdstracker.org\/database\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref2\" name=\"_ftn2\"><sup>[2]<\/sup><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/investmentpolicy.unctad.org\/investment-dispute-settlement\/cases\/800\/rockhopper-v-italy\">https:\/\/investmentpolicy.unctad.org\/investment-dispute-settlement\/cases\/800\/rockhopper-v-italy<\/a> The award was annulled (because of the failure of one of the tribunal judges to disclose previous involvement in criminal proceedings), suivi de which Rockhopper were able to cash in on annulment insurance, and has resubmitted its claim in September 2025.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref3\" name=\"_ftn3\"><sup>[3]<\/sup><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bilaterals.org\/?aet-vs-germany-jeopardising-coal\">https:\/\/www.bilaterals.org\/?aet-vs-germany-jeopardising-coal<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref4\" name=\"_ftn4\"><sup>[4]<\/sup><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/c9391205znwo\">https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/c9391205znwo<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref5\" name=\"_ftn5\"><sup>[5]<\/sup><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/10isdsstories.org\/case\/case-2\/\">https:\/\/10isdsstories.org\/case\/case-2\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref6\" name=\"_ftn6\"><sup>[6]<\/sup><\/a> lac<a href=\"https:\/\/www.exitect.org\/sites\/default\/files\/2022-06\/Summary_Note_on_Regulatory_Chill.pdf\"> note <\/a>on regulatory chill in the context of the ECT and investment treaties.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref7\" name=\"_ftn7\"><sup>[7]<\/sup><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.berlingske.dk\/politik\/flertal-stopper-ny-oliejagt-i-nordsoeen-i-2050\">https:\/\/www.berlingske.dk\/politik\/flertal-stopper-ny-oliejagt-i-nordsoeen-i-2050<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref8\" name=\"_ftn8\"><sup>[8]<\/sup><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.capitalmonitor.ai\/analysis\/cop26-ambitions-at-risk-from-energy-charter-treaty-lawsuits\/\">https:\/\/www.capitalmonitor.ai\/analysis\/cop26-ambitions-at-risk-from-energy-charter-treaty-lawsuits\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref9\" name=\"_ftn9\"><sup>[9]<\/sup><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ipcc.ch\/report\/ar6\/wg3\/downloads\/report\/IPCC_AR6_WGIII_FullReport.pdf\">Groupe de travail 3 du GIEC: Climate Change 2022 Mitigation of Climate Change Report (Rapport sur l\u2019att\u00e9nuation des changements climatiques 2022); p. 1499<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref10\" name=\"_ftn10\"><sup>[10]<\/sup><\/a> Tableau de bord europ\u00e9en du RDIE: A ranking of the harmful effects of 30 countries\u2019 investment treaties, PowerShift, forthcoming<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref11\" name=\"_ftn11\"><sup>[11]<\/sup><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/10.1111\/joes.12392\">https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/10.1111\/joes.12392<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref12\" name=\"_ftn12\"><sup>[12]<\/sup><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.presidencia.gov.co\/prensa\/Paginas\/Colombia-saldra-del-regimen-de-arbitraje-internacional-de-inversion-presidente-260325.aspx\">Colombia saldr\u00e1 del r\u00e9gimen de arbitraje internacional de inversi\u00f3n: Pr\u00e9sident Petro<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref13\" name=\"_ftn13\"><sup>[13]<\/sup><\/a> La Commission des Nations Unies sur le droit du commerce international<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref14\" name=\"_ftn14\"><sup>[14]<\/sup><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oecd.org\/en\/topics\/sub-issues\/the-future-of-investment-treaties.html\">https:\/\/www.oecd.org\/en\/topics\/sub-issues\/the-future-of-investment-treaties.html<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref15\" name=\"_ftn15\"><sup>[15]<\/sup><\/a> Ladan Mehranvar, Lea Di Salvatore, <a href=\"https:\/\/ccsi.columbia.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/CCSI-Mehranvar-DiSalvatore-Structural-Barriers.pdf\">Barri\u00e8res structurelles et dynamique de puissance dans la CNUDCI WGIII: Upholding the statu quo?<\/a>, 2025<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"R\u00e8glement des diff\u00e9rends entre investisseurs et \u00c9tats (RDIE) cr\u00e9ant une barri\u00e8re syst\u00e9mique \u00e0 une transition juste, y compris certains aspects de la transition loin des combustibles fossiles. Current discussions around fossil fuel phase-out create a key opportunity to make progress on addressing this barrier.\u00a0 Civil society organisations are calling on European governments to explore and act on collectively disengaging from \u2026","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":85405,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[378],"tags":[14,64,73],"post_series":[],"thema":[15],"coauthors":[151],"class_list":["post-99089","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-briefing","tag-handels-und-investitionspolitik","tag-handelspolitik-de","tag-isds","thema-handelspolitik","entry","has-media"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99089","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99089"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99089\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":99157,"href":"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99089\/revisions\/99157"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/85405"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99089"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99089"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99089"},{"taxonomy":"post_series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_series?post=99089"},{"taxonomy":"thema","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/thema?post=99089"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=99089"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}