Article

20 Jan 2023

Theresa Kofler,

Niels Jongerius

Opinion: Why we must abolish the Energy Charter Treaty

'Greta Thunberg’s arrest shows why we must abolish the Energy Charter Treaty', 20 January 2023

Greta Thunberg made international headlines this week when she and other climate activists were briefly detained by police at a protest against the expansion of a coal mine in Germany.

Thunberg was among the thousands of protesters who arrived to denounce the expansion of the huge Garzweiler open-cast lignite mine by German energy company RWE. The extraction of lignite (also known as brown coal, one of the dirtiest fossil fuels) requires digging 200-metre-deep ravines that can swallow entire villages – in this case, the abandoned village of Lützerath.

Last week, swarms of police moved into the village in North Rhine-Westphalia to clear the activists, some of whom have been camped there for two years.

But it’s not just the thousands of cops – or even the entire German state – that is shielding the fossil fuel industry’s wanton destruction. An obscure mechanism of international law quietly protects their interests and helps them extract more profits: the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT).

Back in the 1960s, Shell (then called Royal Dutch Shell) envisioned a special kind of international protection for their investments in newly independent Indonesia. Fearing that a potentially unfriendly government might impede its profits, Shell wanted protection that went beyond the traditional national court system...

... There have been protests across Europe against this antiquated and controversial treaty. More than one million people signed a petition to end it. Several leading EU states, including France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain, have announced they will exit this secret weapon of the fossil fuel industry. Italy has already left. However, the European Commission is doing everything it can to save the treaty...

Timeline

MEPs vote to leave treaty used by investors to sue over climate policies

Date:

24 Apr 2024

Content Type:

Article

Coordinated withdrawal agreed after several member states and UK have quit energy charter treaty
EU to exit from controversial energy treaty; UK also announces exit

Date:

6 Mar 2024

Content Type:

Article

The European Union is poised to agree on a joint exit from a controversial energy investment protection agreement that activists say is a roadblock to the bloc’s path toward climate neutrality.
UK minister announces plan to quit Energy Charter Treaty

Date:

1 Sep 2023

Content Type:

Article

The UK's Energy Minister has announced that the UK will quit the Energy Charter Treaty by November unless reforms are passed.
Portugal to withdraw from the Energy Charter Treaty

Date:

20 Jul 2023

Content Type:

Article

Portugal has become the latest European country to announce its intention to withdraw from the Energy Charter Treaty, in line with the European Commission's recent proposal that all EU countries jointly exit the Treaty.
EU proposes that members jointly exit from Energy Charter Treaty

Date:

7 Jul 2023

Content Type:

Article

The European Commission has proposed that all EU members jointly quit the Energy Charter Treaty, citing climate concerns. The Energy Charter Treaty protects the investments of energy companies, including fossil fuel companies.
Denmark to withdraw from Energy Charter Treaty

Date:

14 Apr 2023

Content Type:

Article

Denmark becomes the latest country to withdraw from the Energy Charter Treaty, an investment agreement protecting fossil fuel investors which the Danish government now sees as obstructing the green transition.
Opinion: UK and EU must exit Energy Charter Treaty together

Date:

10 Mar 2023

Content Type:

Article

In the wake of the EU's announcement that it plans to coordinate a withdrawal from the Energy Charter Treaty, Kyla Tienhaara and Rachel Thrasher call for the UK to follow suit to prevent fossil fuel companies suing governments for decisions that threaten the profitability of their business model.
UK must quit Energy Charter Treaty to protect the climate, says letter from 100 academics

Date:

10 Feb 2023

Content Type:

Article

More than 100 academic experts have written to the UK government calling for the UK to exit the Energy Charter Treaty agreement. They say that continued membership of the Treaty will harm the UK's prospects of limiting global warming.
Switzerland won't follow the EU's lead in exiting the Energy Charter Treaty

Date:

9 Feb 2023

Content Type:

Article

Switzerland intends to remain in the Energy Charter Treaty despite the EU's recently-announced intention to withdraw. This raises the risk that fossil fuel companies will restructure their operations to use Switzerland as a base to challenge green energy policies.
EU Commission to quit Energy Charter Treaty

Date:

9 Feb 2023

Content Type:

Article

The European Commission has told member countries that a joint EU exit from a controversial international energy treaty appears inevitable, according to a document seen by EURACTIV, with some of them already leaving the accord on climate concerns.
European Commission recommends EU exit from Energy Charter Treaty

Date:

7 Feb 2023

Content Type:

Article

In a major u-turn, the European Commission has recommended a full EU-wide exit from the controversial Energy Charter Treaty, an investment agreement covering the energy sector that has been criticised as an obstacle in the transition to clean energy.
Opinion: EU withdrawal from the Energy Charter Treaty is inevitable

Date:

24 Jan 2023

Content Type:

Article

After seven EU member states announced their withdrawal from the Energy Charter Treaty, the case for the EU to lead a coordinated exit from the agreement in 2023 becomes overwhelming.
Opinion: Why we must abolish the Energy Charter Treaty

Date:

20 Jan 2023

Content Type:

Article

The treaty allows fossil fuel companies to sue governments for taking climate change action. Blog from researchers at the Transnational Institute and the Anders Handel platform calls for the abolition of the Energy Charter Treaty.
Germany latest country to announce exit from the Energy Charter Treaty

Date:

11 Nov 2022

Content Type:

Article

The German government has announced its intentions to leave the Energy Charter Treaty, joining France, Spain and other EU countries which have recently rejected the controversial treaty.
EU: Countries leave the Energy Charter Treaty, the EU warns of risks

Date:

4 Nov 2022

Content Type:

Article

EU countries are voting with their feet, quitting the investor protection pact despite the EU’s efforts to reform it – but the European Commission warns it will be worse to be outside than in.
France becomes latest country to leave controversial energy charter treaty

Date:

24 Oct 2022

Content Type:

Article

President Macron said quitting the ECT, which protects fossil fuel investors from policy changes that might threaten their profits, was ‘coherent’ with Paris climate deal
Netherlands leaves Energy Charter Treaty as full European withdrawal moves closer

Date:

21 Oct 2022

Content Type:

Article

Dutch Minister for Climate and Energy Policy Rob Jetten announced the decision in the parliament on Tuesday.
Spain confirms intention to withdraw from Energy Charter Treaty

Date:

17 Oct 2022

Content Type:

Article

Spain has initiated a procedure to withdraw from the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT), which protects investments in fossil fuels and other energy infrastructure, official sources confirmed.
Poland: country to quit controversial Energy Charter Treaty

Date:

2 Sep 2022

Content Type:

Article

Activists have drawn attention to a previously unnoticed draft law from the Polish government setting the country on course to withdraw from a 1990s treaty they say was designed to protect fossil fuels and needs to be abandoned in light of the climate crisis.
EU governments and Commission at odds over Energy Charter Treaty

Date:

25 Jul 2022

Content Type:

Article

European governments are still considering withdrawal from the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT), despite the EU Commission’s efforts to modernise the controversial pact, documents leaked to Investigate Europe reveal.
European Parliament demands withdrawal from Energy Charter Treaty and reform of investor-state lawsuits

Date:

27 Jun 2022

Content Type:

Article

The Report on the future of EU international investment policy, which demands a withdrawal from the Energy Charter Treaty, was adopted with a clear majority.
Energy Charter Treaty reform called a 'betrayal' by campaigners

Date:

24 Jun 2022

Content Type:

Article

Campaigners have criticised newly-announced reforms to the Energy Charter Treaty as insufficient in removing protections for fossil fuel investors.
Europe "edging closer" to withdrawal from Energy Charter Treaty

Date:

17 May 2022

Content Type:

Article

More European Union countries have shown signs of impatience with the ongoing reform of the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT), which critics say impedes international efforts to phase out fossil fuels, according to leaked diplomatic cables seen by EURACTIV.
Report: The Energy Charter Treaty is 'incompatible with EU law'

Date:

21 Apr 2022

Content Type:

Report

Report commissioned by ClientEarth looking at the extent to which the continued application of the Energy Charter Treaty is compatible with EU law following recent conclusions from the European Court of Justice.
Energy Charter Treaty: Calls to ditch 'ecocide treaty' after failed reform efforts

Date:

23 Mar 2022

Content Type:

Article

Calls strengthen for the EU to leave the Energy Charter Treaty after efforts to reform the Treaty to ensure compatibility with the EU's climate goals.
UK & Switzerland accused of undermining green reforms to Energy Charter Treaty

Date:

25 Jan 2022

Content Type:

Article

Campaigners have accused the UK and Switzerland of undermining reform of the Energy Charter Treaty in a bid to tempt fossil fuel firms to relocate their headquarters.
Civil Society Organisations’ Statement against the Energy Charter Treaty

Date:

6 Jul 2021

Content Type:

Article

Statement signed by 401 worldwide civil society organisations asking their governments to exit the Energy Charter Treaty by COP26.
Leaked diplomatic cables show ‘limited progress’ in Energy Charter Treaty reform talks

Date:

6 Jul 2021

Content Type:

Article

Little progress has been made to modernise a controversial agreement on energy investments that activists warn could derail decarbonisation efforts in Europe and across the globe, according to leaked documents.

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Opinion: Why we must abolish the Energy Charter Treaty

Timeline

MEPs vote to leave treaty used by investors to sue over climate policies

EU to exit from controversial energy treaty; UK also announces exit

UK minister announces plan to quit Energy Charter Treaty

Portugal to withdraw from the Energy Charter Treaty

EU proposes that members jointly exit from Energy Charter Treaty

Denmark to withdraw from Energy Charter Treaty

Opinion: UK and EU must exit Energy Charter Treaty together

UK must quit Energy Charter Treaty to protect the climate, says letter from 100 academics

Switzerland won't follow the EU's lead in exiting the Energy Charter Treaty

EU Commission to quit Energy Charter Treaty

European Commission recommends EU exit from Energy Charter Treaty

Opinion: EU withdrawal from the Energy Charter Treaty is inevitable

Opinion: Why we must abolish the Energy Charter Treaty

Germany latest country to announce exit from the Energy Charter Treaty

EU: Countries leave the Energy Charter Treaty, the EU warns of risks

France becomes latest country to leave controversial energy charter treaty

Netherlands leaves Energy Charter Treaty as full European withdrawal moves closer

Spain confirms intention to withdraw from Energy Charter Treaty

Poland: country to quit controversial Energy Charter Treaty

EU governments and Commission at odds over Energy Charter Treaty

European Parliament demands withdrawal from Energy Charter Treaty and reform of investor-state lawsuits

Energy Charter Treaty reform called a 'betrayal' by campaigners

Europe "edging closer" to withdrawal from Energy Charter Treaty

Report: The Energy Charter Treaty is 'incompatible with EU law'

Energy Charter Treaty: Calls to ditch 'ecocide treaty' after failed reform efforts

UK & Switzerland accused of undermining green reforms to Energy Charter Treaty

Civil Society Organisations’ Statement against the Energy Charter Treaty

Leaked diplomatic cables show ‘limited progress’ in Energy Charter Treaty reform talks