Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I speak on behalf of Sinn Féin to support the amendment tabled by the Civil Engagement Group. The chapters of CETA that relate to investor courts will impact on every aspect of public policy and severely hinder the power of a progressive government and this Government to make significant changes to people's lives. This is no less true in terms of how we tackle climate change and implement this Bill.

Investor-state disputes, as mentioned by Senator Higgins, are already having a chilling effect on governments looking to take meaningful action on climate change. Under the Energy Charter Treaty, ECT, which has dispute mechanisms, fossil fuel companies are suing states for doing what is necessary to limit fossil fuels and states are rightfully petrified. The Energy Charter Treaty is an international investment treaty that protects investments in the energy sector. It allows investors to challenge state measures in a private arbitration mechanism called an investor-state dispute settlement. Rather than having to use national courts, like everybody else, investors can use these courts.

Senator Higgins also mentioned compensation claims have been made against states for implementing environmental measures to alleviate fuel poverty and cuts in subsidies. Recently we have seen a number of cases where the ECT is being used against governments limiting the use of fossil fuels. I will highlight some of those examples.

In 2017, the French environment minister drafted a law intended to phase out fossil fuels by 2040 and soon after the Canadian oil company Vermilion threatened to sue the French Government. The threat of costs via an unpredictable arbitration seems to have had the intended effect because the French Government passed a revised version of the law that included the possibility for companies to renew oil exploration licences until 2040 and in some cases for even longer.

There are other examples, including Rockhopper, the British oil and gas company, which brought a claim against the Italian Government under the Energy Charter Treaty. The company's application for an oil production concession was rejected following a ban introduced by the Italian Government on oil and gas exploration near the country's coastline. Rockhopper's claim is funded by a third party funder, an investment bank or other funder that is paying Rockhopper's legal fees.

There is another example from when the Dutch Government in 2019 enacted a law to phase out coal-powered electricity production by 2030. A German company, Uniper, challenged the measure under the ECT. That company owns a coal-fired plant near Rotterdam, which was opened in 2016 and would not be required to use another fuel type, such as biomass, or to close. Uniper is reportedly seeking €1 billion in compensation.

Much like the HSE hackers, the Vermilion, Rockhopper and Uniper cases demonstrate there is no length to which these companies will not go to protect their interests, no matter the damage to the public good. These are not hypothetical cases and they are already happening. The Government must oppose CETA and trade agreements like it if we are stand any chance of addressing the climate crisis. I am disappointed our amendments were ruled out of order but we will support amendment No. 24, which has been tabled by the Civil Engagement Group.