Wednesday, May 27 11:00 AM MDT
The Colombia COP marked a real shift. It advanced a more science-based roadmap and built broader international alignment around the need for a fossil-free global economy. That matters. But it also exposed something the climate movement has been slower to confront: the legal and financial machinery reinforces the status quo no matter what negotiating texts say.
The clearest example is Investor-State Dispute Settlement — ISDS — the provisions buried in trade and investment treaties that let fossil fuel companies sue governments, often for billions, when climate policy threatens their expected profits. Efforts to reform ISDS in Colombia ran into resistance, including from the Dutch co-hosts. That says a lot about how hard it is to change underlying rules shaping capital flows, energy systems. It raises the question of what governments and we can do.
Speakers:
Michael Hamersky — Executive Director, Pace Energy and Climate Center, and COPx Core Group
Sam Carvalho — Fellow, Pace Energy and Climate Center, and COPx Belem
Moderator:
Paul Rowland — Chief Operating Officer, Environment Next
We’ll cover:
• Where leverage exists going forward — for institutions, communities, and each of us
• What the Colombia summit achieved, and where it stalled
• Why ISDS reform remains difficult, and who benefits from that
• How legal and financial systems quietly shape climate outcomes
• Whether a viable fossil-free roadmap is beginning to emerge
We’ll leave plenty of time for audience Q&A.
