EU paves way to quit international accord on energy investments

Here’s this note from Andreas Rasche (and this overview from the FT):

As the EU Parliament adopted the CSDDD and PPWR yesterday, it also made another significant sustainability choice: The European Union will exit the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT), the vote was 560 to 43. This is a vital move…

Energy companies used the 30-year-old treaty again and again to challenge climate change legislation. In the past, fossil fuel companies sued several EU governments under the ECT arguing that new climate legislation undermines their own investments.In 202 1, Germany’s RWE used the ECT to sue the Netherlands for €1.4bn after the government ordered to close all coal-fired power plants by 2030. In 2022, Italy had to pay €190mn to Rockhopper (UK oil and gas company).

What we need is consistent protection of the climate under the EU Green Deal. Exiting the ECT is an important step in this direction. The Council now needs to adopt this decision with qualified majority.