European Union lawmakers have voted to withdraw from an international agreement protecting energy investment and trade, paving the way for other signatory states to follow suit.
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is a cut-and-dry way to stop climate change. But how the world responds to the impacts already taking place is a whole other can of worms—a large can, and one that can seem incomprehensible.
This week has seen the EU agree new rules on supply chain due diligence, one of a set of laws passed including action on toxic air, packaging and packaging waste. What the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive establishes is legal liability for corporates on environmental and human rights issues in the European courts—and that could change the framework of corporate accountability.
The bloc's long-mooted withdrawal could halve the number of signatories to a treaty criticized for appearing to protect the interests of fossil fuel investors.