Hi John,
The dominos are falling: countries across Europe - France, Spain, the Netherlands, Poland and Slovenia - are all set to leave a toxic treaty that lets fossil fuel companies sue governments in secret corporate courts. But the UK government is silent.
Can you ask the new energy and trade ministers why the UK isn’t leaving the Energy Charter Treaty?
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The Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) is a climate-wrecking corporate court agreement that fossil fuel companies are already using to sue governments for billions over climate action.
Proposals to ‘modernise’ the treaty and make it compatible with climate goals have failed. The proposals would actually keep fossil fuels protected for ten more years - a decade that is crucial for a climate transition. Even the head of the ECT secretariat itself recently said that it would “definitely” be better for the climate if the treaty did not exist! (1)
In the last few weeks, we’ve seen increasing numbers of other countries acknowledge this and announce they’re leaving the treaty:
- France said the Energy Charter Treaty is not compatible with climate goals
- The Netherlands said the ‘modernisation’ had failed to align the ECT with the Paris climate treaty
- Spain said the modernisation was insufficient to make the ECT coherent with climate goals.
The message from all these countries is coming through loud and clear, and they’re matching actions to words. But the UK is silent. We need our latest government to gear up and get on board.
The UK has another new prime minister and new ministers. The Energy Charter Treaty is the joint responsibility of the energy and climate minister, Grant Shapps, and the trade minister, Kemi Badenoch. As they settle in to their new desks, can you write to them to tell them the UK needs to protect our future and our planet by exiting the ECT?
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If you’re based in London, we’ll be taking the same message in person to the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy on Friday 4 November, at 5pm. Come along if you can and join us to expose this secret weapon of the fossil fuel industry and rail against the prioritising of big business revenues over decisive and just climate policy.
Treaties like the ECT are designed to unshackle rich corporations from any social or environmental bounds, so they can continue ravaging ecosystems, dumping waste and warming the planet. It’s being weaponised against communities here and abroad as we speak.
We have the opportunity here to dismantle one key part of a system of fossil capitalism, and take one step further to a fairer and more sustainable world.
Thanks for walking alongside us.
Cleodie Rickard
Trade campaigner at Global Justice Now
- “The world’s biggest dirty energy club is cracking up” Politico, 24 October 2022
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Stop corporate courts blocking climate action
Fossil fuel companies are using secret tribunals written into trade deals to sue governments over climate action. But a movement is coming together to call on the UK and governments around the world to scrap these ‘corporate courts’.
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