The Conversation: Fossil fuel era is ending, but the lawsuits are just beginning

The Conversation: Fossil fuel era is ending, but the lawsuits are just beginning

An American coal company is suing the Canadian government over Alberta's plan to combat climate change.

By Kyla Tienhaara,

January 17, 2019

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Trucks at a coal mine]
Trucks make their way along a makeshift road at a coal mine in Indonesia. (Photo by Dominik Vanyi/Unsplash)

카지노 게임 컬렉션Coal is dead.카지노 게임 컬렉션

These are not the words of a Greenpeace activist or left-wing politician, but of Jim Barry, the global head of the infrastructure investment group at Blackrock 카지노 게임 컬렉션 the world카지노 게임 컬렉션s largest asset manager. Barry , but for longer than that.

, which is why they are increasingly unwilling to underwrite new coal mines and power plants. Unions and coal workers know it, which is why they are demanding a and new employment opportunities in the clean economy. Even are getting out of the business of coal.

The only ones who seem to have remained in denial are and non-diversified mining companies like . The Denver-based firm made a bad bet in 2013 when it purchased five coal mines in Alberta. Now it wants Canadian taxpayers to pay for its mistake.

Alberta카지노 게임 컬렉션s coal phaseout

Three years ago, Alberta카지노 게임 컬렉션s New Democratic Party (NDP) committed to what some have described as 카지노 게임 컬렉션.카지노 게임 컬렉션 In addition to the development of an economy-wide carbon price, the province is . Without the infrastructure to export coal, the climate plan has also resulted in a de facto phaseout of local thermal coal mining.

To ensure support for the plan, major utility companies in the province were provided with 카지노 게임 컬렉션카지노 게임 컬렉션 to facilitate the switch to gas and renewable energy. Westmoreland did not receive a government handout, because coal mining companies have no role to play in the energy transition. The company, which protection for its investments in the United States in October, doesn카지노 게임 컬렉션t think this is fair.

NAFTA카지노 게임 컬렉션s investment chapter

Because Westmoreland is an American company, it can rely on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) for protection from . NAFTA allows a foreign investor to use a process known as 카지노 게임 컬렉션Investor-State Dispute Settlement카지노 게임 컬렉션 (ISDS) when government action harms its business in some way.

ISDS allows foreign investors to bypass local courts and bring claims for monetary compensation to an international tribunal. The system is not unique to NAFTA; it is found in other trade agreements like the and thousands of (known as in Canada).

ISDS is hugely controversial. Concerns have been raised by a wide range of actors about both the , and the way the system can infringe on the .

More than have been launched by investors since the early 1990s, including that have so far cost Canadian taxpayers . There is one that concerns a ban on gas fracking in Québec, but the Westmoreland claim is the first brought in relation to a policy explicitly designed to combat climate change.

that part of the reason it invested in Canada in 2013 was to diversify its holdings in response to regulatory risk. At the time, the Obama Administration was to reduce the reliance of American utilities on coal. The company카지노 게임 컬렉션s failure to anticipate similar regulatory action by its northern neighbour is remarkable.

A key battleground

If governments respond appropriately to the in October, efforts to phase out fossil fuels will have to ramp up considerably 카지노 게임 컬렉션 and quickly. We should expect the industry to fight these efforts through a variety of means. ISDS may become a key battleground.

The (USMCA or CUSMA, ), which may replace NAFTA (it has been signed, but has not been ratified),

While this is good news in the long run, some have suggested that there will be a 카지노 게임 컬렉션카지노 게임 컬렉션 before access to ISDS for already established investors expires (three years after USMCA comes into force). Canada will also be exposed to claims from investors under other agreements such as the CPTPP and .

Other countries, particularly poorer nations, face an even higher risk of ISDS claims and have far . It is notable that in USMCA, after .

[Oil rig works as the sun sets]
An oil rig pumps crude oil as the sun sets. (Photo by Zbynek Burival/Unsplash) 

A climate of fear?

If Westmoreland카지노 게임 컬렉션s case proceeds to arbitration, it will not have direct implications for Alberta카지노 게임 컬렉션s climate policy. An investment tribunal cannot require the provincial government to reverse the coal phaseout; it can only award the company damages. Westmoreland is asking for US$470 million. It is compensation to Westmoreland if the company카지노 게임 컬렉션s claim was successful. However, in a recent NAFTA case.

What is more concerning than any potential payout is that Westmoreland카지노 게임 컬렉션s suit could hinder efforts to implement similar plans to combat climate change in other jurisdictions.

카지노 게임 컬렉션카지노 게임 컬렉션 is a phenomenon that has been observed in several jurisdictions around the world. A notable example is the decision of the until Australia won its . This delay of regulatory action 카지노 게임 컬렉션 out of fear of expensive litigation 카지노 게임 컬렉션 may have cost lives.

As recent and have demonstrated, delays in action to combat climate change can also be deadly.

____________________________________________________________The Conversation

Kyla Tienhaara is a Canada Research Chair in Economy and Environment and an assistant professor in the School of Environmental Studies and the Department of Global Development Studies at Queen's 카지노게임사이트.

This article is republished from under a Creative Commons license. Read the .

The Conversation is seeking new academic contributors. Researchers wishing to write articles should contact Melinda Knox, Associate Director, Research Profile and Initiatives, at knoxm@muwangwooden.com

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