An official has said that Switzerland will not join the European Union’s proposed mass exit from a controversial energy investment protection treaty.
Reports have it that the European Commission had already proposed a joint EU exit from the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT), over fears its protections for fossil fuel investments will slow down climate action.
The UK government had said that it is “closely monitoring the situation”.
The Swiss energy ministry’s Jean-Christophe Fueeg was quoted as saying that his country, which is not an EU member state, is not leaving. The Swiss position has sparked fears that fossil fuel companies will restructure their investments through Switzerland in order to keep suing governments over climate action.
E3G campaigner Jonny Peters said: “As the EU looks set to exit the Energy Charter Treaty, there is certainly a risk of companies and law firms treaty shopping [in] Switzerland.”
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The Swiss energy ministry’s head of international energy affairs Jean-Christophe Fueeg told Climate Home on Thursday: “No change in Switzerland’s position, especially given that the EU has not come to a position yet.”
According to reports, Switzerland has in the last few years refused to support the EU’s push to remove fossil fuel protections from the ECT and did not join the EU and UK last year announcing a phase-out of fossil fuel protections under the treaty.
Fueeg added: “Just as food for thought: Would you think that Swiss investors, who have billions of assets in the EU (much of it in renewables), would appreciate seeing their investors’ protection rights waived by a Swiss exit?”
Story was adapted from Climate Home News.
