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More than $80 billion has been awarded to the fossil fuel industry in recent decades through claims made in corporate courts.(2) With increasing pressure on public finances, and the UK government committed to net zero in the face of opposition parties abandoning it, it’s a massive risk to leave climate policies at the mercy of these shadowy tribunals, which fly in the face of democracy.
We also know that all the while corporate courts lurk in our trade deals, UK companies are rampantly wielding them against governments around the world acting to prevent corporate abuses.
But as the system has come back to bite Britain, we must use this moment to stress it is in no one’s interest to allow costly challenges to rational climate rulings, and the UK public should not be shouldering the losses of dirty, obsolete projects.
In the Cumbria mine case, the sulphur content of the coal meant it could not have been used domestically – despite the touting of energy security benefits – and the company didn’t even have a lease on the proposed site. They didn't appeal the High Court’s ruling, and abandoned their project – but even with such weak skin in the game, they can still use this bespoke legal system to demand a pay-out.
Can you call on the government to act on this grave threat to climate action?
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