Britain should follow other European countries in withdrawing from a treaty that allows fossil fuel giants to sue governments over their climate policies, campaigners have urged.
The controversial Energy Charter treaty was created in the 1990s at a time when the world’s energy system was largely dominated by fossil fuels and enabled foreign companies to use secret arbitration courts to challenge energy policies that threatened their investments.
Many countries face costly legal challenges to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and boost renewable energy, including the Netherlands, which faces a $1.4bn (£1.18bn) challenge to phase out coal.
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Parties to the treaty, including Britain, will decide at a meeting on Tuesday whether to adopt a modernized version of the agreement, which has a stronger climate focus and clarifies that countries can regulate to meet emissions reduction targets.
But some European countries, including the Netherlands, France, Germany and Poland, have said they will withdraw from the treaty, and campaigners want Britain to follow suit.
Amandine Van Den Berghe, a lawyer at environmental law charity ClientEarth, said: “It is only a matter of time before the controversial Energy Charter treaty is abandoned in Europe.
“Germany, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Poland have withdrawn from the treaty, while EU efforts to reform it are currently failing.
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“This proves that, at least on the mainland, the political will has finally turned against one of the biggest obstacles to the energy transition today.
“The UK really shouldn’t be behind this movement,” she urged.
“If it is to be a true climate leader, the UK needs to stand with its climate allies in Europe and withdraw from a treaty that puts fossil fuel interests ahead of climate action.”
She warned that staying in the treaty would make the energy transition harder, slower and more expensive, as climate action by the UK that affects investments by fossil fuel companies could face costly legal challenges.
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The UK government said it had proposed terms in a modernized version of the treaty that all new investments in fossil fuels would lose protection once it came into force, and that protections for existing investments in fossil fuels would end after 10 years.
The UK will continue to protect investment in “highly efficient and abatement gas-fired power generation” with the ability to capture and store carbon emissions, officials said.
But beyond that, overseas investors in new North Sea oil and gas will not be able to bring legal claims against Britain under the treaty, the government said, although it continued to support new investment in fossil fuel extraction and announced up to 100 new investments in recent weeks. month new license.
Coal will lose protection from 1 October 2024, when its role in UK energy production ends.
“The parties to the Energy Charter Treaty will decide at the Energy Charter Conference on November 22 whether to adopt a modernized Energy Charter Treaty,” a government spokesman said.
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Emily Beament is PA Environmental Correspondent.
