Special "Corporate Court" Could Force UK Taxpayers To Pay Singapore Investors' Losses In Failed Lake District Coal Mine

The UK government is being sued in a secretive “corporate court” after a proposal for a new coalmine in Cumbria was quashed by the high court. If successful, UK taxpayers would have to fund a substantial compensation payment to the mine’s investors. It is the first such case to be filed against the UK government by a fossil fuel company as a result of climate policy. The case uses investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) rules agreed in a 1975 trade agreement between the UK and Singapore, where the major investor in the coalmine is incorporated.

The details of the claim have not been made public, but ISDS courts allow foreign investors to sue states when their activities are affected by government policies, such as green regulations. ISDS courts were described as “unjust, undemocratic and dysfunctional” in a recent UN report. Experts have repeatedly warned that their use threatens efforts by countries to cut carbon emissions and fight the climate crisis. More than $100bn in public money has been awarded to corporations through ISDS courts. Fossil fuel companies have benefited most, receiving $80bn since 1998.

The controversial proposed coalmine in Cumbria was blocked by the high court in September. The judge ruled it had been unlawful for the then Conservative government to accept a claim that the mine would be “net zero” when granting planning permission. Labour ministers have since withdrawn government support for the mine.

Cleodie Rickard, the trade campaign manager at the NGO Global Justice Now, said: “We’ve been calling on the government to scrap ISDS in its trade deals for years, to stop exactly this eventuality: fossil fuel companies suing us over necessary climate action.” She added: “These corporate courts mean that when governments or courts make the right decision, like halting the Cumbria coalmine, foreign corporations have the power to threaten the government in highly secretive processes. If they win, they get to pass their losses from obsolete projects on to the taxpayer.”

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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/aug/11/uk-taxpayers-on-hook-failed-cumbria-coalmine-investors-sue-government