Bart-Jaap Verbeek
bjverbeek.bsky.social
Bart-Jaap Verbeek
@bjverbeek.bsky.social
Senior Researcher | @somoamsterdam.bsky.social

(Critical) International Political Economy | Trade and Investment Law and Policy | Energy and Extractives | Ph.D.
Pinned
💥 Aftershocks in Groningen

Today, @somoamsterdam.bsky.social releases a new report revealing how #Shell and #ExxonMobil are using secret arbitration #ISDS to demand billions from the Netherlands, in an attempt to shift the costs of gas extraction onto society. ⛽⚖️

🔗 www.somo.nl/aftershock-i...
Excellent article on the dark side of gas extraction in Groningen, and on how Shell and ExxonMobil are trying to evade their responsibility through secret arbitration procedures #ISDS.

www.linkedin.com/posts/bart-j...
#isds #gas #extraction #earthquakes #shell #exxonmobil #groningen #isds #corporateaccountability | Bart-Jaap Verbeek
"For most of us, the shadowy world of investment arbitration may feel irrelevant and remote, but its invisible tendrils are wound into our daily lives - influencing a governments' ability to protect i...
www.linkedin.com
January 12, 2026 at 4:22 PM
Wingtech is preparing an #ISDS claim of no less than $8 billion (!) against the Dutch State, based on the bilateral investment treaty between China and the Netherlands, due to the intervention in #Nexperia.

#StopISDS

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
December 24, 2025 at 8:09 AM
Belangrijke oproep @sandrabeckerman.bsky.social @christinepvdd.bsky.social om geen arbitrageclausules meer op te nemen in afspraken en overeenkomsten met bedrijven. We zien de gevolgen daarvan in het Groningen-dossier.
December 11, 2025 at 9:06 PM
Vanmiddag kan de Tweede Kamer duidelijk kiezen: versterk democratische ruimte, zet een streep door #ISDS.

ISDS geeft bedrijven als Shell en ExxonMobil een machtig drukmiddel, verschuift besluiten naar geheime arbitrage en bedreigt klimaat- en energiebeleid met miljardenclaims.
December 9, 2025 at 12:34 PM
Reposted by Bart-Jaap Verbeek
Russian oligarchs are launching massive challenges to EU sanctions in secretive tribunals

Our 🆕 joint analysis found🕴️28 cases or threats 💸 for a total of $62bn in claims

How a system built to “protect” investors is now undermining sanctions & Ukraine’s defence👉 friendsoftheearth.eu/press-releas...
How billion-dollar investor arbitrations undermine sanctions & Ukraine’s defense
An analysis of publicly-disclosed claims conducted by civil society organisations reveals that 28 investment arbitration cases (including threats) have been initiated by sanctioned oligarchs or compan...
friendsoftheearth.eu
December 9, 2025 at 9:40 AM
Reposted by Bart-Jaap Verbeek
🍿Last chance to catch the premiere of CEO’s documentary “The Scramble for Hydrogen in South Africa” featuring the voices and stories of some of the most affected communities in South Africa that are being ignored by EU politicians.

📅 27Nov
📍 Cinema Vendôme, Brussels
👉 corporateeurope.org/en/event/4
November 26, 2025 at 3:37 PM
Reposted by Bart-Jaap Verbeek
The Critical Raw Materials Act is in the spotlight at EU Raw Materials Week.

We looked at the companies behind EU strategic mineral projects outside EU borders – and found potentially serious gaps in human rights policies and practices. Read the report: www.business-humanrights.org/en/from-us/b...
November 17, 2025 at 9:26 AM
Reposted by Bart-Jaap Verbeek
A new network of scholars, activists and organizers influenced by Marxism in the Netherlands @marxism-nl.bsky.social wil be launched on Dec 3 at an event at Pakhuis de Zwijger.

This is the website of the network
marxism-nl.org/en

This is the event on Dec 3
dezwijger.nl/programma/ma...
Special Marxists in the Netherlands Unite!
Back to class. Marxism in the Netherlands today.
dezwijger.nl
November 14, 2025 at 1:14 PM
ExxonMobil and Shell - responsible for the damage in #Groningen - are among the many fossil fuel companies at #COP30 working to protect their interests.

It’s long past time to bar fossil lobbyists from climate negotiations!

nos.nl/artikel/2590...
Het wemelt van de fossiele lobbyisten op klimaattop Brazilië
Uit een analyse valt op te maken dat er op de top ruim 1600 lobbyisten aanwezig zijn die fossiele belangen vertegenwoordigen.
nos.nl
November 14, 2025 at 8:52 AM
Why phasing out fossil fuels must top the agenda at #COP30.

Groningen was hit today by its strongest quake in years — a reminder that decades of gas extraction keep shaking communities even after the wells close. The human cost of fossil dependence persists.

www.reuters.com/business/env...
www.reuters.com
November 14, 2025 at 8:33 AM
Reposted by Bart-Jaap Verbeek
Brazilian President Lula’s call for a roadmap to phase out fossil fuels is resounding around #COP30.

But justice must be at the centre of the phase-out.🚨

📣 Together with an international network of civil society organisations, we're calling for responsible divestment from fossil fuels.

1/2
November 13, 2025 at 8:46 AM
🚨 Petrogas sues the Netherlands over public-interest fiscal measures:
💰 Windfall profits tax in fossil fuels
🏦 Withholding tax to curb tax avoidance

#ISDS allows companies to challenge fair taxation of corporate profits.

@somoamsterdam.bsky.social @bothends.bsky.social
www.somo.nl/petrogas-sue...
Petrogas sues the Netherlands over fiscal measures meant to protect the public interest - SOMO
A new ISDS case filed against the Netherlands by Petrogas, an Omani oil and gas company, under the Netherlands-Oman bilateral investment treaty.
www.somo.nl
November 5, 2025 at 3:08 PM
Reposted by Bart-Jaap Verbeek
#COP30 is starting in just a few days in Brazil.

How has corporate capture derailed true climate action at COP and how can we change course?

Read our full analysis: www.somo.nl/from-cop-to-...
November 5, 2025 at 11:22 AM
Reposted by Bart-Jaap Verbeek
Who are UN climate talks really serving? 🤔

What we see:

🚩 Big polluters as sponsors
🚩 Fossil fuel executives in presidency teams
🚩 Multinationals included in negotiation
🚩 Fossil fuel phase-out missing from the agenda
🚩 Spotlight on corporate-driven "solutions" e.g. carbon offsets

#COP30 (1/3)
November 3, 2025 at 8:39 AM
The Dutch government signed a deal with Tata Steel to decarbonize the IJmuiden steel plant - with €2 billion in state support.

No arbitration clause this time: disputes go to Dutch courts only 👏

Looks like they learned from the Shell/ExxonMobil #Groningen cases.
October 15, 2025 at 8:32 AM
🚨 Chinees moederbedrijf #Nexperia schakelt internationale advocaten in om juridische stappen tegen Nederland te verkennen.

Via het investeringsverdrag met China kan #Wingtech #ISDS inzetten om Nederlandse veiligheidsmaatregelen aan te vechten.

📢 #StopISDS

static.sse.com.cn/disclosure/l...
October 13, 2025 at 7:10 PM
From Entebbe to Accra: Day 1 of the West Africa Civil Society Forum on Aligning Investment Policy Frameworks with Climate and Sustainable Development Goals.

#ActionAidGhana @somoamsterdam.bsky.social @bothends.bsky.social

www.linkedin.com/posts/bart-j...
#wacsf2025 #ghana #wacsf2025 #fromentebbetoaccra #sustainableinvestment #climatejustice #civilsociety #sustainabledevelopment #africa2030 #agenda2063 | Bart-Jaap Verbeek
From Entebbe to Accra: Day 1 of the West Africa Civil Society Forum 🇬🇭🌍 #WACSF2025 The first day of the West Africa Civil Society Forum on Aligning Investment Policy Frameworks with Climate and Susta...
www.linkedin.com
October 7, 2025 at 7:46 AM
Reposted by Bart-Jaap Verbeek
🚨 ExxonMobil has been lobbying relentlessly to take down the EU’s CSDDD.

Its playbook?
- Lobbying
- Funding think tanks
- Media sponsorships

⚠️The EU cannot let those causing the climate crisis write the rules to get out of it.

www.somo.nl/how-big-oil-kills-sustainability-and-climate-legislation/
How Big Oil kills sustainability and climate legislation - SOMO
Inside ExxonMobil’s lobby campaign to take down the EU’s CSDDD When the EU finally agreed on its landmark Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) in 2024, it was hailed as a breakthro...
www.somo.nl
October 2, 2025 at 6:51 AM
Morgen naar Brussel voor debat over hoe #ISDS ingrijpt op EU-beleid rond sancties, veiligheid, klimaat & milieu.

Geweldig dat @g-b-b.bsky.social de stem van Groningers laat horen die door #Shell & #ExxonMobil zijn getroffen 💪

@somoamsterdam.bsky.social

groninger-bodem-beweging.nl/nieuws/gbb-n...
September 22, 2025 at 7:52 PM
NAM, Shell & ExxonMobil blijven vechten om hun miljardenwinsten veilig te stellen: inmiddels 20 (!) procedures om herstelkosten #Groningen te ontlopen, zelfs via internationale arbitragehoven.

www.ad.nl/binnenland/c...
Conflict Groningse herstelkosten escaleert, onderhandelingen gestaakt
Het kabinet en de Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij (NAM) slagen er niet in een akkoord te bereiken in het almaar uitdijende conflict over de kosten van de Groningse hersteloperatie. De onderhandeling...
www.ad.nl
September 19, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Vorige week gaf @milieudefensie.bsky.social @donaldpols.bsky.social de Henri Polak-lezing: een inspirerend betoog over de macht van multinationals en de noodzaak van een sociale tegenbeweging.

Met aandacht voor een groot obstakel voor klimaatrechtvaardigheid: #ISDS

www.youtube.com/clip/Ugkx1d0...
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September 18, 2025 at 8:02 PM
De #Ennia-affaire was groot nieuws. Maar dat een van de veroordeelde hoofdrolspelers nu (via een investeringsverdrag met Libanon) Nederland aanklaagt voor $133 miljoen bleef onder de radar #ISDS. 📢🤯

@somoamsterdam.bsky.social @foeeurope.bsky.social
e.a. 👇

10isdsstories.org/case/case-9/
September 18, 2025 at 8:34 AM
Reposted by Bart-Jaap Verbeek
When states act in the public interest, the rich and powerful can sue them in VIP courts to protect their profits. 😱

That system is called the Investor-State Dispute Settlement - and it must be dismantled.🚨

Together with 5 partners, we've published 10 recent cases of ISDS: 10isdsstories.org
September 17, 2025 at 10:50 AM
Reposted by Bart-Jaap Verbeek
🆕 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
September 17, 2025 at 9:04 AM