- Britain has announced that it will leave the Energy Charter Treaty, which has been criticised for blocking efforts to fight climate change.
- The government said they are considering the views of businesses, industry and civil society.
Britain has announced that it will follow other European countries in leaving the Energy Charter Treaty, which has been criticised for blocking efforts to fight climate change because its protection of energy investments extends to fossil fuels.
The 1998 Energy Charter Treaty allows energy companies to sue governments over policies that damage their investment and has, in recent years, been used to challenge policies that require fossil fuel plants to shut down.
Britain said there had been a failure of efforts to modernise the treaty to align it with net zero. The minister of state for energy security and net zero, Graham Stuart, said in a statement that the Energy Charter Treaty is outdated and urgently needed reform, but talks have not progressed, and sensible renewal looks increasingly unlikely.
He added, “Remaining a member would not support our transition to cleaner, cheaper energy and could even penalise us for our world-leading efforts to deliver net zero.”
The government said that after considering the views of businesses, industry and civil society, it would now instigate Britain’s withdrawal, which would take effect after one year, removing protections for new investments after this period.
Last July, the European Commission proposed that EU countries jointly quit the treaty. Nine EU member states, including France, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands, have already done so.