Uk government’s official advisers have urged the UK to quit a controversial energy treaty to stop it delaying vital climate action and triggering huge taxpayer payouts to fossil fuel companies.
The energy charter treaty (ECT) is a system of secret courts that enables companies to sue governments over policies that would cut their future profits.
Reports show that companies have sued over phasing out coal-fired power stations, ending offshore oil drilling and banning fracking. The UK’s Climate Change Committee said Britain should withdraw from the ECT because recently proposed reforms did not go far enough.
The UK and Japan are the only major economies not to have committed to exiting the ECT. France, Germany, Spain and others have already said they will leave and the EU is set to pull out en masse after saying that staying would “clearly undermine” climate targets.
Recall that the ECT was set up in the 1990s to protect energy companies working in former Soviet Union countries from government expropriation. But critics said the “climate-wrecking” treaty was being “weaponised” by fossil fuel companies.
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In its most recent report, the CCC said that the UK should announce intent to withdraw from the ECT [as] continued membership represents risks to both a timely climate transition and to the taxpayer. The committee said that the ECT was outdated and the prospects for further reform were uncertain.
Cleodie Rickard, a trade campaigner at Global Justice Now was quoted as saying: “This welcome recommendation comes at a crucial time for the future of this climate-wrecking treaty. Numerous European countries have committed to leaving, but they’re still discussing the kind of coordinated withdrawal that would neutralise the sunset clause in the treaty and maximise the benefits of leaving. The UK announcing its exit now could really tip the balance.”
The UK supported recent attempts to reform the ECT. But Rickard said: “The CCC is clear that attempts to patch up the treaty have failed. The proposed reforms would actually keep oil and gas projects protected for at least 10 more years – a decade that is crucial for the climate transition if we are to have a livable future for all.” Global carbon emissions must be reduced by almost half by 2030 to keep global heating below the internationally agreed goal of 1.5C.
Story was adapted from the Guardian.
