Six weeks ago, billionaire businessman Clive Palmer lost a $300 billion case against the Australian government when the High Court determined that he is not, in fact, a Singaporean investor.

It may sound absurd, but Palmer’s case had potential – and he has three more similar cases in the works. Across the globe, fossil fuel companies are taking up a secret weapon against climate action: it’s baked into many trade agreements, and allows corporations to bypass court systems and sabotage climate policies.
‘Investor-state dispute settlement’, or ISDS, has the potential to crush what little progress states are making on climate action. 

To fill us in on this toxic global loophole, I called on the Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network, AFTINET. Audio for this episode comes from their recent webinar on ISDS, and features expert voices on the problem and its solutions.

Dr Pat Ranald is an honorary research assistant at the University of Sydney and convenor of the Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network.

Kyla Tienhaara is Canada Research Chair in Economy and Environment and Associate Professor in the School of Environmental Studies and Department of Global Development Studies at Queen’s University, Kingston.

Maria Poulos Conklin is a diplomat, policy maker, founder of the Save the Bay Coalition and the former Parliamentary and Political Relations Manager at the Australian Conservation Foundation.

Earth Matters #1533 was produced by Mia Audrey on Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Country.

Image courtesy of AFTINET.