The Energy Charter Treaty is collapsing

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Hi John,

Yesterday supporters of the Energy Charter Treaty suffered a major defeat at a crucial meeting on its future. It means the UK government is out of excuses for staying in this climate-wrecking agreement.

The meeting was supposed to approve the ‘reform’ proposals that supporters of the ECT have put together to try and patch up the broken treaty. But there wasn’t enough backing from member countries, so they’ve not been passed.

And you’ve guessed it – yet another country is leaving. Luxembourg has joined Germany, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Poland and Slovenia in agreeing the so-called ‘reform’ has failed, the risk to their climate action is too great, and it’s time to get out.

It’s a great thing that these weak, greenwashed proposals have failed. And it also means that the ECT is left in a state that the UK itself has admitted is insupportable.

We’re at the point when the government must accept that the best and only viable option is to leave the treaty in coordination with others. In this final push to get them to face reality, can you email your MP and ask them to pass your message that the UK needs to exit the ECT now?

Email your MP

Wherever your MP stands on the issues at stake, it’s crucial they are up to date with what’s just happened. Both the Conservatives’ and Labour’s position around the ECT has been very focused on the reform process – which has just collapsed.

A former Energy Minister said in June that the unreformed treaty is “outdated” and “holds back investment in clean energy and puts British taxpayers at increased risk from costly legal challenges.”

This is our chance to get across that there’s no two ways about it: staying in the ECT means locking in the risk of being sued by fossil fuel companies over necessary climate policies and leaving the public shouldering billion-pound payouts to polluters.

We need to make sure that proponents of the treaty don't find a way to resuscitate it to stumble on for a bit longer. The UK leaving could be the final nail in the coffin.

Tell your MP the UK needs to exit the ECT

The existence of this toxic treaty is one of the greatest threats to governments taking real action on the climate crisis, and one of the biggest enablers of the power of fossil capitalism. But with your help, we can get this withdrawal over the line.

Thank you for being with us in this campaign.
Cleodie Rickard
Trade campaigner at Global Justice Now

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