Fossil fuel companies have won more than USD 80 billion in investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) awards.

Omissions

• The figure is an estimate produced by NGO researchers (IIED / Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment, published 2023 and restated at US$82.8 billion in January 2026), not an official statistical series such as UNCTAD or OECD data; no official register of total ISDS damages awarded to fossil fuel investors exists.
• The total is dominated by a single case: the Yukos v. Russia arbitrations, worth roughly USD 50 billion, which alone account for the majority of the USD 82.8 billion. Presenting it as the typical outcome of fossil fuel ISDS cases is misleading.
• Awards ordered by tribunals differ from sums actually paid or collected by investors; the sources describe amounts 'awarded'/'secured', not money received.
• The underlying dataset dates from 2023 research; the January 2026 report restates it rather than adding newly compiled 2024–2026 awards.

Sources

• SecondaryCAN Europe — 'ISDS vs The Climate' report (PDF)"Fossil fuel companies have historically secured at least US$82.8 billion in damages, and large sums continue to be invested in fossil fuels worldwide." Also: "The fossil fuel industry is the most litigious industry in the ISDS system, accounting for almost 20% of the total known ISDS cases (UNCTAD 2023a, 92)."
• SecondaryInternational Institute for Environment and Development (IIED)"Fossil fuel businesses have been awarded more than US$80 billion of taxpayers' money by claiming their investments could be disrupted by" climate action.
• SecondaryFoundations 20 (F20) — ISDS barrier to the energy transition"In 2023, the International Institute for Environment & Development and the Columbia Center for Sustainable Investment calculated that states had paid out more than $82 billion in damages to fossil fuel investors, a sum equivalent to the combined GDP of the world's 45 smallest economies."