CYIL vol. 12 (2021)

CYIL 12 (2021) THE MODERNIZATION OF THE ENERGY CHARTER TREATY TO ENABLE CLIMATE… The Modernization of the Energy Charter Treaty to Enable Climate Action Monika Feigerlová Abstract: Negotiations on the modernization of the Energy Charter Treaty are currently undergoing at the initiative of the EU, all the while some EU member states are being sued for violation of this treaty arising from measures adopted by their governments to meet climate change objectives. The alignment of the treaty with the Paris Agreement is one of the main points of the reform. The article discusses the proposed amendments aimed at turning the Energy Charter Treaty into a climate-friendly agreement and evaluates the suitability of the reform elements for achieving climate goals and how the EU proposal impacts both carbon intensive and clean energy investments. Resumé: V současné době probíhají z iniciativy EU vyjednávání o modernizaci Dohody k energetické chartě (‚ECT‘), zatímco některé členské státy EU čelí žalobám o porušení ECT na základě opatření, jež příslušné státy přijaly za účelem splnění svých klimatických cílů. Nastolení souladu ECT s cíli Pařížské dohody je jedním z hlavních bodů reformy. Tento příspěvek se zabývá navrženými změnami, jež by měly učinit z ECT „klimaticky přátelskou“ smlouvu, a zamýšlí se nad vhodností jednotlivých bodů reformy pro dosažení klimatických cílů a jaký dopad má návrh EU na nízkouhlíkové a vysokouhlíkové investice v energetice. Key words: ECT, modernization, climate change, energy transition, Paris Agreement About the Author: JUDr. Monika Feigerlová, LL.M., PhD. , Institute of State and Law of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic, Attorney-at-Law. The research for this article has been supported/subsidized within the Lumina quaeruntur award of the Czech Academy of Sciences for the project “Climate law“ conducted at the Institute of State and Law. Introduction International investment law has indirectly become one of the fora for climate change litigation. Measures that can be classified as measures adopted by governments to meet their countries’ climate goals have been challenged by investors under international investment treaties, including the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT). The ECT is a multilateral agreement for the energy sector and it covers intergovernmental cooperation for trade, transit, investments, environmental protection, energy efficiency, and dispute settlement. The ECT and the Energy Charter Protocol on Energy Efficiency and Related Environmental Aspects were developed after the end of the Cold War with the aim of integrating the former Eastern Block countries into western and world energy market, it was signed in 1994 and entered into force in 1998. Among its approx. fifty-six signatory parties (as of 2021) are all Member States of the EU as well as the EU itself and the European Atomic Energy Community but excluding American countries such as the United States or Canada.

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