Cases / Oil, gas and coal operations · Netherlands · 2019–2023
RWE drops 1.4 billion euro claim over Dutch coal ban; Hemweg-8 closure announced
Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.
Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
- The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
What the record lacks: 1 none on record · 3 insufficient · 1 not measured · 1 disputed · 2 unclear See the gaps
RWE and Uniper filed Energy Charter Treaty claims against the Netherlands over its coal phase-out, and RWE later dropped its 1.4 billion euro claim. Vattenfall also announced the early closure of its 650 MW Hemweg-8 plant in Amsterdam.
What?
RWE sought 1.4 billion euros from the Netherlands under the Energy Charter Treaty over its Eemshaven coal plant, and Uniper filed its own claim against the Netherlands. CorpWatch
Where?
Netherlands (Eemshaven and Amsterdam) and Germany CorpWatch
When?
2021 claims; 2022 Uniper rescue; 2023 RWE withdrawal; December 2023 Commission approval CorpWatch
Who?
Gained
- RWE — lignite exit compensation of 2.6 billion euros from Germany, approved by the European Commission in December 2023 Enerdata
- Uniper — rescued by the German state in 2022, with withdrawal of its Dutch case made a condition Climate Case Chart
Lost
None on recordHarmed
None on recordWhy?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
Investor claims under the Energy Charter Treaty filed against the Netherlands after its coal decision. CorpWatch
6 of 6 questions answered from the record
What happened
The record, in order.
CorpWatch reported that RWE sought 1.4 billion euros from the Netherlands under the Energy Charter Treaty over its Eemshaven coal plant, and later dropped the case.
Climate Case Chart reported that Uniper filed its claim against the Netherlands on 30 April 2021, and that the German state's 2022 rescue of Uniper made withdrawing the claim a condition.
Vattenfall announced on 20 December 2019 that its 650 MW Hemweg-8 coal plant in Amsterdam was closing.
In court and with insurers
Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.
Lawsuits and rulings
- 2021–Outcome not on recordRWE claim against the Netherlands under the Energy Charter TreatyICSID · Civil · RWE → Netherlands
CorpWatch reported that RWE dropped the 1.4 billion euro case. CorpWatch
- 2021-04-30–Outcome not on recordUniper claim against the Netherlands under the Energy Charter TreatyNot stated in the sources reviewed. · Civil · Uniper → Netherlands
Climate Case Chart lists the case; its withdrawal was made a condition of the German state's 2022 rescue of Uniper. Climate Case Chart
Insurers
No insurer decision on record.
What we don't know
Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
Court
Record
- Insufficient Reported but not verified: the German Federal Court of Justice ruled on 27 July 2023 that the treaty's arbitration clause is invalid within the EU, and RWE then withdrew (SOMO secondary summary).
- Insufficient Reported but not verified: the Hague District Court upheld the coal law and found no compensation was due.
- Insufficient Reported but not verified: the Dutch state paid Vattenfall 52.5 million euros for the early Hemweg-8 closure, under an EU state-aid decision whose PDF could not be checked.
- Disputed Reported but not verified: Uniper rescue figures range from 15 billion to 34.5 billion euros, with different sources giving different totals.
- None on record Not found: the outcome of the Dutch national appeals.
Did the harm stop?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Who paid?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Sources
Voices on record: ✓ Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers
Company or project
- Vattenfall's last coal power plant in the Netherlands is closingVattenfall · 2019-12-20
Press and investigations
- RWE drops 1.4 billion euro case against Netherlands in climate winCorpWatch · 2024-01-26
- Uniper v. Netherlands (Climate Case Chart)Climate Case Chart ·
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