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Kyla Tienhaara

@kylat.bsky.social
441 followers 360 following 19 posts

Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair in Economy and Environment, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario.

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Reposted by Kyla Tienhaara
Dan Cohen @dancohen.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
The latest details of the Canada Strong Fund are disturbing. Concerning plan to raise capital through 'asset optimisation... unlocking the full value of existing federal assets'. A strategy plan to assetize / privatize public goods to fund private sector. budget.canada.ca/update-misea...
budget.canada.ca
Spring Economic Update 2026
Canada strong for all
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European Trade Justice Coalition @eurtradejustice.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
Stiglitz, Piketty, Ghosh, Chang and over 200 other experts call for an "unwinding" of ISDS Writing to Colombian president Petro, ahead of the fossil fuel transition conf he will host next month, they say ISDS is a system for "paying polluters" that stands in the way of that transition #stopISDS
bu.edu
Letter from 220 Economists and Legal Scholars to Colombian President Gustavo Petro Calling for Action on ISDS | Global Development Policy Center
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SUS-POL @suspol.bsky.social · 01/12/2025
📢 A just transition means phasing out fossil fuels and the ISDS system that protects them 📢 A new contribution from @kylat.bsky.social sets out why reform to the investor–state dispute settlement (ISDS) system is essential for phase-outs. sussex.ac.uk/research/pro... Quick 🧵👇
sussex.ac.uk
A just transition requires roadmaps to phase-out fossil fuels and ISDS
At COP30, calls to phase-out fossil fuels were blocked, but Colombia pushed on -also warning that ISDS remains a major barrier to the transition.
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Kyla Tienhaara @kylat.bsky.social · 25/09/2025
Shame on Canada for presumably pushing this on Indonesia at the behest of mining firms.
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Friends of the Earth Europe @foeeurope.bsky.social · 17/09/2025
🆕 stories show how old investment treaties still roll out the red carpet for investors to sue EU countries over sanctions against aggressive regimes, national security, climate laws, tax policies … This secretive #ISDS system puts profits above democracy. Read more 👉 10isdsstories.org #StopISDS
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Kyla Tienhaara @kylat.bsky.social · 09/09/2025
Very important work, thank you for sharing. Helpful in dispelling the myth that we "need" ISDS to facilitate the energy transition - if we want a just transition, what we need is to get rid of ISDS!
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Jen Moore @jenmoore2.bsky.social · 08/09/2025
From NACLA’s Green Capitalism in the Americas, we look at foreign investment in solar energy in Honduras that led to persecution of communities starting under the narcodictatorship and now $1,6 billion in claims over modest reforms. @tandfresearch.bsky.social www.tandfonline.com/eprint/HFMVI...
tandfonline.com
The Sinister Side of Solar Energy in Honduras
Published in NACLA Report on the Americas (Vol. 57, No. 3, 2025)
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Center for International Environmental Law @ciel.org · 14/06/2025
🚨 BILLIONS lost to corporate lawsuits, not going to #ClimateAction. Join us at our official #SB62 side event: how investment treaties block climate progress & drain public funds. 🗓️ Mon, Jun 16 | 15:00 CEST 📍 Berlin Room, World Conference Center, Bonn #ISDS #ClimateJustice More: bit.ly/4l75Qwx
e3g.org
Addressing investment treaties to achieve article 2.1(c) of the Paris Agreement - SB62 Official side event
Mobilising climate finance requires removing barriers that distort investment decisions and divert public resources from climate action. One such barrier is the international legal framework made up o...
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LPE Blog @lpeblog.bsky.social · 22/05/2025
With summer just around the corner, are you looking to indulge in some juicy, page-turning scholarship? Today, the Blog highlights some of the hottest new forthcoming LPE and LPE-adjacent articles. 🔥🔥
lpeproject.org
Some of the Best New LPE and LPE-Adjacent Scholarship
With summer just around the corner, are you looking to indulge in some juicy, page-turning scholarship? As always, the Blog has you covered with our biannual roundup of some of our favorite…
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Reposted by Kyla Tienhaara
Climate Social Science Network @cssn.org · 29/04/2025
Fossil fuel companies make money and block climate action by playing the victim. See this informative new study from CSSN scholars @kylat.bsky.social @fergusgreen.bsky.social on how companies leverage investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) to further their goals. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
cambridge.org
Climate obstruction and capital accumulation by feigned victimization: TC Energy and the political economy of investor-state dispute settlement | Business and Politics | Cambridge Core
Climate obstruction and capital accumulation by feigned victimization: TC Energy and the political economy of investor-state dispute settlement
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Trade Justice Movement @tradejusticemov.bsky.social · 28/04/2025
The UK officially withdrew from the #ECT yesterday, but fossil fuel companies could still sue the gov for 20 years under its "sunset clause." New legal advice shows a way out with an inter se agreement to block future #ISDS claims. tjm.org.uk/uk-can-act-t... @globaljusticenow.bsky.social
tjm.org.uk
UK can act to block fossil fuel investors from suing over Energy Charter Treaty, new legal opinion finds « Trade Justice Movement
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Lawyers Are Responsible @lawyersareresp.bsky.social · 18/04/2025
BREAKING: @Ls4Ca released their 2025 Law Firm #Climate Change Scorecard. The legal profession is complicit in climate destruction—and young lawyers are fighting back. A thread with key take-aways & why its findings are so timely. 🧵 Read the report: bit.ly/2025Scorecard
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International Institute for Sustainable Development @iisd.org · 11/04/2025
To stop climate change & cut exposure to volatile energy markets, some Govs are phasing out oil & gas production. But what if investors sue? Our brief sets out how to design phaseouts to minimize the risk of investment arbitration—in parallel to accelerating ISDS reform. buff.ly/XHLD6fd 🧵 1/3
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Kyla Tienhaara @kylat.bsky.social · 15/04/2025
And he will claim the process to decide whether he could build a shed was “unfair” and no on the panel will ask about how he tried to manipulate the outcome. And no one will discuss the dangers of sheds. And those most hurt by sheds will have no say…so yeah, great system you are defending!
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Kyla Tienhaara @kylat.bsky.social · 15/04/2025
So the man, who is not from this city and doesn’t think the local courts are good enough for him, goes to an arbitration panel and asks for many many times the amount that he spent trying to build a shed. And he gets to pick one of the arbitrators, so he can make sure it is someone who likes sheds.
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Kyla Tienhaara @kylat.bsky.social · 15/04/2025
Despite all this effort, he doesn’t get all the necessary permits and is caught up in multiple court cases. Then a new Mayor is elected who wants the city to move away from sheds for good and he revokes one of the many approvals needed to build the shed.
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Kyla Tienhaara @kylat.bsky.social · 15/04/2025
He nevertheless does everything he can to stack the decision making in his favour - he donates big money to city councillors and has his friends hired to review the costs and benefits of his shed. He pays for advertising to convince everyone that sheds are great and that the city needs more sheds!
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Kyla Tienhaara @kylat.bsky.social · 15/04/2025
A man wants to build a shed even though he knows that doing so threatens the future of all life on the planet and that he is taking a big risk because people don’t like sheds anymore and are looking for safer alternatives. There are even international agreements about stopping sheds!
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Kyla Tienhaara @kylat.bsky.social · 14/04/2025
We call this tactic feigned victimization. Fossil fuel companies can use this tactic to extract huge sums of money in arbitration. We illustrate our argument through an empirical case study of TC Energy’s US$15 billion ISDS claim against the US in relation to the Keystone XL oil pipeline.
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Kyla Tienhaara @kylat.bsky.social · 14/04/2025
@fergusgreen.bsky.social and I argue that the asymmetric treatment of state and investor behaviour in #ISDS allows investors to depict themselves as innocent victims of “unfair” and “unforeseeable” “political” processes, despite being active political players and sophisticated risk managers
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Kyla Tienhaara @kylat.bsky.social · 14/04/2025
What is feigned victimization and how is it used by fossil fuel companies to achieve capital accumulation and climate obstruction?
doi.org
Climate obstruction and capital accumulation by feigned victimization: TC Energy and the political economy of investor-state dispute settlement | Business and Politics | Cambridge Core
Climate obstruction and capital accumulation by feigned victimization: TC Energy and the political economy of investor-state dispute settlement
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Kyla Tienhaara @kylat.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
In it, we argue that G7 countries should move beyond the current piecemeal approach to reform of the international investment regime and initiate the negotiation of a plurilateral agreement aimed at removing ISDS from international investment agreements.
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Kyla Tienhaara @kylat.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
Pleased to share this short policy brief "Ending the Era of Investor-State Dispute Settlement”, co-authored with Rachel Thrasher and Kevin P. Gallagher for the Think 7 (T7) process coordinated by the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI). #ISDS www.think7.org/publications...
think7.org
Ending the Era of Investor-State Dispute Settlement
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Kyla Tienhaara @kylat.bsky.social · 12/11/2024
That’s the plan at the moment!
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Kyla Tienhaara @kylat.bsky.social · 12/11/2024
3. How can minilaterals have an impact outside of their membership? We are keen to involve scholars (including early career researchers) and practitioners (e.g., those working in groups like Beyond Oil & Gas Alliance). If this is of interest to you, please reach out to me at kt71@queensu.ca
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Kyla Tienhaara @kylat.bsky.social · 12/11/2024
The questions we want to address are: 1. Once created, how can minilaterals be expanded in terms of both membership and level of ambition? 2. How can minilaterals overcome the challenges they face in terms of ensuring equity and fairness within their membership?
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Kyla Tienhaara @kylat.bsky.social · 12/11/2024
Call for papers: “Small Groups, Big Goals: Minilateralism in Action” I am organizing a panel with @jfmorin.bsky.social for the 2025 Transformations Community/Earth System Governance Conference in South Africa next year: www.transformationscommunity.org/tcesg25-conf...
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Kyla Tienhaara @kylat.bsky.social · 02/10/2024
Excited to be moderating this virtual session on "Re-Imagining the University in an Era of Polycrisis". A great lineup of speakers including @jenniecstephens.bsky.social who will talk about her forthcoming book Climate Justice and the University. Free to register: 2024forum.earthsystemgovernance.org
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Jessica Green @greenprofgreen.bsky.social · 18/09/2024
finance nerds -- i'm maybe late to the party on this one, but check out www.globalisdstracker.org for awesome data and graphs on the ISDS. @kylat.bsky.social
globalisdstracker.org
Global ISDS Tracker | How Corporate Courts Threaten Our Future
This website tells a story of how a little known legal mechanism is enriching fossil fuel corporations with public money, delaying climate action and threatening our future. This mechanism is called I...
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Kyla Tienhaara @kylat.bsky.social · 27/08/2024
Super helpful, thanks!
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Kyla Tienhaara @kylat.bsky.social · 27/08/2024
Thanks @timinclimate.bsky.social - still figuring this app out - what is GreenSky?
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