Today the EU took the final decision to exit the climate-wrecking Energy Charter Treaty (ECT), with a final green light from the Council. This is a massive victory for activists across Europe who have been calling for this to happen for years. And it is a key step in dismantling the secretive system of corporate tribunals that pose such a threat.
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This little known and outdated treaty is being used by the fossil fuel industry to sue governments for billions over climate policies. A growing number of countries have been walking away from the treaty, in order to put an end to the danger that it poses. In the past two years, eleven countries have announced they are leaving the ECT: Spain, France, Germany, Netherlands, Slovenia, Poland, Luxembourg, Denmark, Ireland, Portugal and the UK. Italy withdrew earlier, in 2016.
In April, the European Parliament voted for the EU itself to join the exit. Today this decision has been confirmed by the Council.