Energy Charter Treaty

69 Energy Charter Treaty (a) “Energy Cycle” means the entire energy chain, including activities related to prospecting for, exploration, production, conversion, storage, transport, distribution and consumption of the various forms of energy, and the treatment and disposal of wastes, as well as the decommissioning, cessation or closure of these activities, minimising harmful Environmental Impacts; (b) “Environmental Impact” means any effect caused by a given activity on the environment, including human health and safety, flora, fauna, soil, air, water, climate, landscape and historical monuments or other physical structures or the interactions among these factors; it also includes effects on cultural heritage or socio-economic conditions resulting from alterations to those factors; (c) “Improving Energy Efficiency” means acting to maintain the same unit of output (of a good or service) without reducing the quality or performance of the output, while reducing the amount of energy required to produce that output; (d) “Cost-Effective” means to achieve a defined objective at the lowest cost or to achieve the greatest benefit at a given cost. Article 20: Transparency (1) Laws, regulations, judicial decisions and administrative rulings of general application which affect trade in Energy Materials and Products or Energy Related Equipment 61 are, in accordance with Article 29(2)(a), among the measures subject to the transparency disciplines of the WTO Agreement. 62 (2) Laws, regulations, judicial decisions and administrative rulings of general application made effective by any Contracting Party, and agreements in force between Contracting Parties, which affect other matters covered by this Treaty shall also be published promptly in such a manner as to enable Contracting Parties and Investors to become acquainted with them. The provisions of this paragraph shall not require any Contracting Party to disclose confidential information which would impede law enforcement or otherwise be contrary to the public interest or would prejudice the legitimate commercial interests of any Investor. 61 Modification based on Art. 2 of the Amendment to the Trade-Related Provisions of the Energy Charter Treaty. 62 Id.