In an exciting move, Britain has announced it is withdrawing from an outdated energy treaty that allows oil, gas, and coal companies to sue governments over climate policies that threaten their profits.
The decision, announced in late February, according to The Guardian, comes after failed efforts to align the Energy Charter Treaty with net-zero emissions goals.
The controversial treaty, established in the 1990s to protect polluting energy investors in former Soviet countries, lets these companies seek compensation in secret arbitration courts if government policies hurt their bottom lines.
But as Britain and other nations take ambitious steps to tackle atmospheric pollution, the treaty is increasingly being used to penalize them for doing the right thing.
By quitting the Energy Charter Treaty, the United Kingdom is sending a powerful message that people and the planet must come before polluter profits. This move will free up the government to pass green policies without fear of expensive lawsuits from oil and gas giants.
The U.K. isn't alone in rejecting this treaty. France, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, and several other countries have already left or plan to leave after modernization efforts failed. The European Union is also proposing a coordinated withdrawal of all 27 member states.
This mass exodus demonstrates that nations are increasingly unwilling to let dirty energy interests dictate climate policy.
Ultimately, dropping the Energy Charter Treaty will benefit both British citizens and the environment. It will allow the government to make stronger efforts to curb policies that cause rising temperatures and extreme weather events, such as the proposed bill to increase offshore oil and gas extraction. This will create a cleaner, safer future for communities while reducing reliance on planet-warming energy sources.
"The energy charter treaty is outdated and in urgent need of reform, but talks have stalled and sensible renewal looks increasingly unlikely," explained Graham Stuart, the U.K.'s energy security and net-zero minister. "Remaining a member would not support our transition to cleaner, cheaper energy, and could even penalize us for our world-leading efforts to deliver net zero."
With more countries rejecting this relic of the dirty energy age, there is renewed hope that we can accelerate the transition to a thriving clean energy future for all.
As Global Justice Now campaigns manager Cleodie Rickard put it: "The mechanism in the ECT which made it so deadly — the investor-state dispute settlement provisions — lives on in a number of other treaties, including the pacific trade deal. With ISDS's legitimacy crumbling, now is the time to scrap all this system."
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