The corporate courts system deepens global inequality

Is this email not displaying correctly? View in your browser

Hi John,

You might have seen my email last week. Big fossil fuel firms are forcing governments to back down on urgently needed climate action by suing them for ‘lost profits’ in corporate courts. Thanks to the generosity of supporters like you, we’re able to fight back against corporate courts and highlight their danger for the climate response at every turn.

I am writing today to ask if you can donate to make sure we can keep campaigning against corporate courts and calling for climate justice.

We must take action against climate change and inequality

Fossil fuels firms and corporate courts are nothing new. Originally, in the 1950s and 60s, the idea of corporate courts was pushed by fossil fuel companies who wanted to hold on to their control of resources in the global south when countries were becoming independent. 

Since the very beginning, the corporate courts system has reinforced and deepened the inequality between the global north and south.

In fact, global south countries are at far greater risk from corporate court lawsuits - they’re sued more often, and the massive amounts involved are an even bigger hit on desperately stretched government budgets. It costs millions just to fight a case, let alone the risk of losing. The result can be a chilling effect that blocks climate action. 

And while the corporate courts system is blocking climate action, it is also the global south countries which are least responsible for causing climate change that are the most affected by its severe impacts. 

Our recent research, funded by Global Justice Now supporters and members, shows that the UK is one of the hubs for the multi-million-dollar industry behind corporate courts. A number of specialist law firms, mostly situated in London, are actively driving and perpetuating the corporate court system and thereby undermining climate action. In 2021 we raised awareness of their harmful practices through focussed protests.

If you can, please donate £30 today to help this campaign be the best it can be.

Yes, I can donate to strengthen this vital campaign

Your donation would help to bring attention to the actions of those specialist law firms and challenge the industry behind corporate courts. It would help spread the word about the way the corporate courts system deepens the inequality between the global north and global south. And by resisting corporate courts in UK trade deals, we are part of a global movement pushing for a better system.

With my best wishes

Jean Blaylock
Trade and climate campaigner at Global Justice Now 

P.S. In case you missed it, or wish to read it again, my email from last week is below with further information.

Hi John,

You may remember my email last summer, warning how big fossil fuel firms are forcing governments to back down on urgently needed climate action by suing them for ‘lost profits’ in corporate courts. Since then, thanks to supporters like you, we’ve fought back against corporate courts and highlighted their danger for the climate response at every turn. We’ve made our voices heard, calling for climate justice and calling out corporate courts’ insidious dangers for climate action.

We’re planning to turn up the heat even further on fossil fuel firms and the UK government and stop the use of corporate courts. We want to increase public knowledge and understanding of the dangers of corporate courts and equip people to take action. We want to hold creative actions and stunts to draw decision makers’ attention to the dangers of corporate courts. And we plan to work with journalists and documentary makers to help to bring the hidden stories of corporate courts to light.

But we need your help. One of the best ways to influence the actions of corporations and governments is public pressure. If you can, please donate £30 today to help pay towards work with journalists and documentary filmmakers to raise awareness about how fossil fuel companies are suing governments for billions over climate action.

Yes, I can donate to strengthen this vital campaign

If we are serious about climate action we urgently need to get rid of corporate courts.

The good news is that it’s possible! Countries like South Africa, India, New Zealand, Tanzania and even the US are already rejecting them. Now we need to demand that the UK joins them by dropping corporate courts in any new trade deals and exiting the Energy Charter Treaty. 

After months of tireless campaigning, late last year we succeeded in getting corporate courts dropped from the UK-Australia trade deal. And as we have helped to make the threat of corporate courts a more well-known issue, more and more European governments are talking openly about leaving the harmful Energy Charter Treaty. Even the threat of a corporate court case can be a deterrent to a government taking climate action, so we need to make sure they’re not included in any future trade deals.

Your donation of £15 today could help cover the costs of organising creative stunts that draw attention to the dangers of corporate courts.

Yes, I can donate to strengthen this vital campaign

We need to stop fossil fuel firms holding governments to ransom for taking urgent climate action.

Even in the short time since my email last summer another 15 billion-dollar lawsuit has been filed against the United States over the cancellation of the Keystone tar sands oil pipeline. This highlights how vital it is we resist corporate courts. We can’t accept that every vital climate victory could mean another lawsuit.

By going undercover last year, Global Justice Now heard first-hand how industry insiders themselves are saying they could demand as much as $9 trillion from governments for enacting climate legislation. That’s more than ten percent of the global economy. And they expect the more governments do to tackle the climate crisis, the more cases there will be. 

To achieve the globally agreed aim of doing everything we can to limit warming to 1.5°C, the vast majority of fossil fuels need to remain in the ground. By threatening to sue governments across the world for trillions of dollars, fossil fuel firms are blocking the pledges made only a few months ago at the COP26 summit and forcing the world into a state of climate paralysis.

Your donation of £5 today could help reach out to new people through online videos, local activism, events and talks to drum up more support for the campaign for climate justice. 

Yes, I can donate to strengthen this vital campaign

In my email last summer, I appealed for funds to help demand the UK drop corporate courts from the UK-Australia deal – and together we succeeded. With public pressure increasing on the government, and the media narrative turning towards the dangers of corporate courts to climate justice, we have already come so far. Now we must demand that the UK continues to reject corporate courts from any new trade deals and exits the Energy Charter Treaty. I hope you’ll consider supporting the next step of the campaign.

Best wishes, 

Jean Blaylock
Trade and climate campaigner at Global Justice Now 

P.S. Pushing for vital climate action should be a simple call to create a better world, but the threat of corporate court cases can get in the way of progress. If you can, please donate to help campaign against them.