UK withdraws from ECT, as does Ireland

On April 26, 2024, the United Kingdom notified its withdrawal from the ECT. This follows an earlier announcement of this step by the British government in February, in which Minister of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Graham Stuart, stated that “[r]emaining a member would not support our transition to cleaner, cheaper energy, and could even penalise us for our world-leading efforts to deliver net zero.”

Similarly, the Irish Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan, recently reaffirmed his country’s intention to withdraw from the ECT. In a statement published May 31, 2024, he emphasized his view that “the Energy Charter Treaty is not fit for purpose.” According to Ryan, the treaty “is not aligned with the Paris Agreement on climate change, and frankly, acts as a barrier to a just green transition. We can no longer be party to an international treaty that allows energy companies to sue governments over policies that aim to bring effect to the clean energy transition that the world needs.”