UK exits ‘outdated’ international energy treaty after talks break down

The UK will depart the ‘outdated’ Energy Charter Treaty after failing to reach agreements on modernisation for the framework.

Set up in 1994, the treaty self-describes as providing “a multilateral framework for energy cooperation among the signatories, to promote energy security through the operation of more open and competitive markets.”

However, the framework has also come under fire for allowing fossil fuel giants to sue governments over introducing policies that threaten their projects.

The UK mooted leaving the agreement in September last year and with today’s confirmed departure, joins the path of nine EU member states, including France, Spain and the Netherlands.

Minister of state for energy security and net zero Graham Stuart said the treaty was “outdated and in urgent need of reform” but doubted whether “sensible renewal” would be possible for the UK to remain committed to it.

“With £30bn invested in the energy sector just since September, we continue to lead the world in cutting emissions, attracting international investment and providing the strongest legal protections for those who invest here.”

Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero Claire Coutinho said on Twitter that staying in the framework could “undermine the UK’s world-leading clean energy sector“.

Shaun Spiers, executive director of the climate think tank Green Alliance, said: “Civil society organisations and parliamentarians from all political parties have been clear that the Treaty is an out-of-date agreement and undermines our efforts to tackle climate change.

We welcome the UK’s decision to leave which will strengthen global efforts to roll out cheap, clean renewable energy.”