International Investigation by Inside Climate News Wins an SPJ Award

The “Cashing Out” series focused on a system that lets companies win multimillion or even billion-dollar penalties against nations acting to protect the environment and the public.

Inside Climate News has won an award from the Society of Professional Journalists for its investigation into a little-known arbitration system that has allowed multinational corporations to win billion-dollar claims against developing nations.

“Cashing Out,” reported by Katie Surma and Nicholas Kusnetz, showed how investor-state dispute settlement, or ISDS, lets companies doing business outside their own country challenge efforts to regulate them and win huge penalties at taxpayers’ expense. The reporters found that some companies had won awards even after they flouted national laws. Others prevailed despite polluting the environment or being accused of human rights violations.

“We’re gratified by the recognition from SPJ for this important work that raises real questions about justice in a world where wealthy Western corporations often receive huge settlements from developing nations struggling to protect their own people from climate change and environmental degradation,” said Vernon Loeb, ICN’s executive editor. “The reporting tenacity Katie and Nick demonstrated as they penetrated this secret system was remarkable.” 

The series explored how the ISDS system has emerged as an obstacle to climate action: Governments have faced claims from fossil fuel companies for rejecting projects as part of their efforts to transition away from coal, oil and gas.

Other stories revealed that developing countries are hit hardest—most claims have been filed by corporations based in North America and Europe against governments in Latin America, Africa and Asia. And now Wall Street investors are effectively buying into cases and profiting off the lopsided rules. 

The series’ new award from the Society of Professional Journalists was for science, environmental and climate reporting by smaller newsrooms. The series has also won awards from the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing, the Deadline Club, the New York Press Club and a citation in this year’s Overseas Press Club Awards. It was a finalist in the Scripps Howard Journalism Awards.

Founded in 2007, Inside Climate News is the oldest dedicated climate and environment newsroom in the nation. Nonprofit and non-partisan, ICN publishes essential reporting, investigation and analysis about the biggest crisis facing the planet. A watchdog of government, industry and advocates, ICN holds them accountable for their policies and actions by countering misinformation, exposing environmental injustice and scrutinizing solutions.

Cover photo:  Aymara activists opposed to mining operations in Peru's southeastern Puno region organized on May 31, 2011 for a wave of protests against the Canada-based Bear Creek Mining Corporation plans to open a silver mine in the area. Credit: Aizar Raldes/AFP via Getty Images