Investor-state dispute settlement allows companies to sue governments over climate policies

A secretive international arbitration system embedded in thousands of investment treaties enables foreign corporations to sue governments for billions in damages when environmental regulations affect their profits, undermining climate actio

First covered Jul 8, 2026 · 12:44 PM PT · 1 article

Investor-state dispute settlement allows companies to sue governments over climate policies — Image via insideclimatenews.org

Coverage

5h Inside Climate News 5 Takeaways From Our Investigation Into a Secretive System That Undermines Climate Action — What if companies affected by government efforts to protect the environment could get international arbitrators to award them billion-dollar payouts?

Primary sources

iied.org 21971Iied (iied.org)

italaw.com Italaw4475 (italaw.com)

More coverage from around the web

e3g.org Explained: Why investor–state dispute settlement (ISDS) matters for the energy transition - E3G

lse.ac.uk ‘Investor-State Dispute Settlement’ as a new avenue for climate change litigation - Grantham Research Institute on climate change and the environment

csis.org Investor-State Dispute Settlement: A Key Feature of the Trade Policy Response to Climate Challenges | CSIS

iisd.org Investor–State Dispute Settlement and Fossil Fuels: What role for a carveout? | International Institute for Sustainable Development

waronwant.org What is Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS)? | War on Want

Appeared in: 2026-07-08 (#3) · 2026-07-09 (#4)

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