Corporate courts give fossil fuel companies the power to sue governments for taking action on the climate emergency.

Is this email not displaying correctly? View in your browser ([link removed])
Hi John,
Corporate courts give fossil fuel companies the power to sue governments for taking action on the climate emergency. They are an obstacle to a clean energy transition and to achieving climate justice. We need to take a stand against them.

In this year when the UK is hosting the UN climate conference, we are calling for the UK to leave corporate courts behind. Can you add your voice to our petition?
Sign the petition today ([link removed])


** How corporate courts block climate action
------------------------------------------------------------
Corporate courts (also known as ISDS) can be written into trade rules. They enable transnational corporations to sue countries outside of the national legal system for almost anything they don’t like - banning toxic chemicals, introducing a sugary drinks tax, capping water rates - you name it. Either the corporations want payoffs in the millions or even billions of pounds, or they use corporate courts as a threat to force governments to back down.

Corporate courts have long been used to oppose environmental protections. Now that we are finally seeing more governments around the world begin to take long needed action to tackle the climate crisis, we are seeing more and more fossil fuel companies using corporate courts to challenge those actions:
* RWE, an energy company, is suing the Netherlands over the phase out of coal-fired power stations, while another energy company, Uniper, is threatening to do the same.
* Ascent Resources, a UK fossil fuel company, is about to sue Slovenia for requiring an environmental impact assessment on fracking plans.
* Rockhopper, a UK fossil fuel company, is suing Italy over a ban on offshore oil drilling close to the coast.
* Lone Pine, a fossil fuel company, is suing Canada over the introduction of a fracking moratorium in Quebec.
* Westmoreland, a mining company, is suing Canada over a phase out of coal-fired power stations in Alberta


**
Protect the climate
------------------------------------------------------------
To have a hope of tackling the climate emergency, we must stop fossil fuel companies using corporate courts.

The UK is starting its independent trade policy and we should be getting rid of corporate courts. Instead, the government looks to be about to set them in stone - signing new deals with corporate courts in them, like the UK-Canada deal and the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and recommitting to an existing big corporate court deal, the Energy Charter Treaty.

But the government is trying to do this below the radar, because it knows corporate courts are controversial. If enough of us speak out about this and draw public attention, they could be forced to back down. Over the past year we’ve seen this several times on toxic trade deals, with the government backing down and making promises over food standards and the NHS as a result of public pressure. We need to make noise.

We need to tell Boris Johnson and the trade department not to let corporate courts block climate action. Join the campaign and add your name to the petition:
Take action to stop corporate courts ([link removed])
Thank you for your support,
Jean Blaylock
Trade campaigner at Global Justice Now
** Behind closed doors...
------------------------------------------------------------
The government is using trade rules to make life easier for big business, stripping away standards that protect us and our world.  

Regular gifts give us the long-term stability to plan effective campaigns for a more just world, as well as to react to damaging trade deals with speed and strength.

If you’re not already a member, will you join today?
Join today ([link removed])
[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]

This email was sent by Global Justice Now, which you are receiving because you most probably signed up on our website, took a campaign action or attended one of our events. If you no longer want to receive our emails you can
update your preferences ([link removed]) or unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])

Our mailing address is:
Global Justice Now
66 Offley Road, London SW9 0LS
Phone: 020 7820 4900
============================================================
** Twitter ([link removed])
** [link removed] ([link removed])
** Website ([link removed])