In the midst of a climate and health emergency, a German energy firm is exploiting an obscure investment treaty to intimidate the Dutch government from pursuing its plan to phase out coal.

If successful, this will have a chilling effect on climate action, Roberta Arbinolo reports. 

The Dutch government’s coal exit plan is part of a broader strategy to cut greenhouse gas emissions in the Netherlands by 49% from 1990 levels by 2030. To comply, the German company Uniper will have to close its Maasvlakte 3 coal plant, close to Rotterdam, less than 15 years after opening it, or switch to operating it with a different fuel.

Uniper describes this as an “expropriation” and has threatened to take extra-judicial action against the Netherlands, seeking a reported €1 billion in compensation.

Emissions from coal-burning are a major driver of climate breakdown. The International Energy Agency estimates that CO₂ from coal has been responsible for about a third of the 1°C increase in global average annual surface temperatures above pre-industrial levels.

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