Sierra Club Joins Hundreds of Orgs. Calling on Governments to End ISDS System

Washington, DC - Sierra Club has joined over 340 civil society organizations in signing an open statement calling on governments around the world to disengage from investor-state dispute settlements, or ISDS, a system that "threatens a just transition from fossil fuels and the urgent need for a social and ecological transformation for people and the planet."

The statement explains, "ISDS provisions are written into many trade and investment deals. They entitle transnational corporations to sue governments in ad hoc tribunals for taking actions they allege harm their profits. Fossil fuel companies globally are by far the biggest beneficiaries of the ISDS system, having been awarded over $87 billion in claims."

The statement was published ahead of the First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels , taking place in Colombia at the end of April.

Sierra Club published a report in May 2024, Trading Away Our Climate: How Corporations Use Trade and Investment Agreements to Undermine Action on Climate Change , that highlighted how fossil fuel companies worldwide threaten climate progress through outdated trade agreements that favor corporate interests over the public good.

In reaction, Deputy Director of Sierra Club's Industrial Transformation Campaign Iliana Paul released the following statement:

"So much of our trade and global market systems have been designed for and by fossil fuel interests, and ISDS is no different. For too long, multi-billion-dollar corporations have operated at the expense of taxpayers, frontline communities, and the environment thanks to outdated and undemocratic trade rules. Ending the ISDS system is one step towards a more just trade regime that would allow countries around the world to make progress in the fight against climate change and benefit people over corporate polluters."

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Additional Background

In a first for a multilateral climate forum, April's conference prominently features on its agenda the need to address the barrier ISDS poses to a fossil-fuel phase out. This comes after Colombia's president recently announced his intention to withdraw the country from the ISDS system.

Signatories to the open letter span over 50 countries across multiple continents plus regional and global organizations. They include Sierra Club, 350.org, Amnesty International, Oxfam International, Friends of the Earth International, CAN Europe, CANLA, Climate Action Network Australia, SOMOS SUR (Bolivia), Black Environmental Initiative (Canada), Chile Mejor sin TLC, CAJAR (Colombia), PowerShift (Germany), The Future We Need (India), Publish What You Pay (PWYP) Indonesia, Policy Alert (Nigeria), Global Justice Now (UK) and Public Citizen (United States).

There are additional media spokespeople on ISDS available in Santa Marta, Colombia.