Abstract
This case comment examines Azienda Elettrica Ticinese (AET) v Federal Republic of Germany, the most developed instance to date of a State deploying the Paris Agreement as a central element of its investment defence. The dispute arises from Germany’s 2020 Coal Ban Act and AET’s claims of indirect expropriation and breach of the fair and equitable treatment standard under the Energy Charter Treaty. Germany invokes the Paris Agreement in three distinct ways: as justification for its regulatory measures under the police powers doctrine; as interpretive context for the fair and equitable treatment standard; and, most innovatively, as applicable law for damages under ECT Article 26(6). The comment also considers the significance of the ICJ’s 2025 Advisory Opinion on climate change for each strand of Germany’s defence.
Recommended Citation
Marceddu, Maria Laura; Bhukya, Kanishka; and Saha, Debditya
(2024)
"Climate Defence in Investment Disputes: Azienda Elettrica Ticinese v. Germany and the Paris Agreement,"
Indian Journal of International Economic Law: Vol. 15:
No.
2, Article 5.
DOI: doi.org/10.55496/MEAM3067
Available at:
https://repository.nls.ac.in/ijiel/vol15/iss2/5
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
doi.org/10.55496/MEAM3067