1,081,851 of 1,300,000 signatures

To European governments, parliaments and EU institutions

Petition

Pull out of the Energy Charter Treaty and stop its expansion to other countries! The treaty allows coal, oil and gas corporations to obstruct the transition to a clean energy system. Disarm fossil fuel firms now, so they can no longer impede urgent climate action!

Why is this important?

We’re paying massive fines to fossil fuel companies. Europeans could end up paying over 7 billion euro to oil, gas and coal companies for taking climate action. [1]

  • Oil and gas company Rockhopper is demanding 260 million euro from the Italians for banning new oil fields on its coast. 
  • Ascent wants 120 million from Slovenian taxpayers for prioritising the environment over gas fracking. 
  • Vattenfall sued the German people for €4.3 billion when it decided to phase out nuclear power.
  • And the Dutch people are set to pay 2.4 billion euros to RWE and Uniper for phasing out coal! [2]

The time to avoid a climate catastrophe is quickly running out. [2] But fossil fuel companies are holding our governments hostage through the threat of being sued for extortionate fines. They are blocking our governments from making the decisions we need to save our climate.

This toxic fossil fuel treaty - officially called the Energy Charter Treaty -  is a blast from the past, from a period when governments were in climate denial. [4] Yet, fossil fuel companies are clinging to it for dear life because it means they can protect their profits.  

But protecting profits means suing governments who dare put people and planet first. When they win, governments have to pay compensation with our public money. Public money that could go to green investments, education and hospitals instead of continuing to line the pockets of the biggest polluters. 

But we are gaining ground from the big polluters. Italy has already ended its membership of this toxic treaty, European Parliamentarians support our call and now it is up to our countries to choose a side. But for this to happen, our energy ministers need to hear our personal messages on why we care.


References:

  1. Oil and gas company Rockhopper is demanding 260 million euro from the Italians for banning new oil fields on its coast. Ascent wants 120 million from Slovenian taxpayers for prioritising the environment over gas fracking. Vattenfall sued the German people for €4.3 billion when it decided to phase out nuclear. And the Dutch people are set to pay 2.4 billion euros to RWE and Uniper for phasing out coal!
    https://energy-charter-dirty-secrets.org/#section5
    https://friendsoftheearth.eu/press-release/uk-fracking-company-sues-slovenia-over-environmental-protection/
    https://www.investigate-europe.eu/en/2021/ect/
    https://www.euractiv.com/section/energy/news/energy-charter-treaty-strikes-again-as-uniper-sues-netherlands-over-coal-phase-out/
    https://www.euractiv.com/section/energy/news/germanys-rwe-uses-energy-charter-treaty-to-challenge-dutch-coal-phase-out/
  2. https://energy-charter-dirty-secrets.org/#section5
  3. This toxic fossil fuel treaty is called the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) https://friendsoftheearth.eu/news/how-the-energy-charter-treaty-derails-climate-action/
  4. https://act.wemove.eu/campaigns/stop-big-pollutors
  5. https://foeeurope.org/sites/default/files/climate_justice/2020/ect_axe_to_climate_action.pdf

In partnership with:

Tweet to Ebba-Elisabeth Busch, Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden and Minister for Energy, Business and Industry of Sweden and Johan Forssell, Swedish Minister for International Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade

This week, Swedish ministers have the chance to vote down a major threat to our climate: the toxic fossil fuel treaty called the ECT (Energy Charter Treaty). They need to know that citizens across Europe are watching them make this historic vote.

And we have the key to getting our message across: Twitter. Ministers always pay attention to Twitter, often even checking it on their phones when they’re in meetings.

Tweet at the Swedish ministers in charge of this toxic fossil fuel treaty and tell them to vote down the ECT!

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Mail To European governments, parliaments and EU institutions

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Send a personal message to key ministers in charge of the toxic fossil fuel treaty: the ECT! Right now is our crucial chance to end this treaty which gives full power to fossil fuel industries, before we are locked into it for years to come. It is our ministers in charge who need to hear our voices.

Follow the simple instructions below and if you need some inspiration we have suggested some talking points.

  • Be personal: know personal messages are more impactful. Speak from the heart and explain why you care about governments taking climate action
  • Inspire the minister to take action: so they knows they have the support of people across Europe to stand up to powerful companies
  • Make your point: try to keep your message short
  • Don’t forget to say thank you and sign your message
    •

If you need more help, you can also use one of these bullet points. Please adapt it as much as possible to make it your own:

  1. The EU’s withdrawal from the ECT is unavoidable – a coordinated withdrawal of the EU and all Member States is by far the best option. Pull out of the Energy Charter Treaty and stop its expansion! The treaty allows coal, oil and gas corporations to obstruct the transition to a clean energy system. Disarm fossil fuel firms now, so they can no longer impede urgent climate action!
  2. Under a sunset clause, countries can still be taken to court for 20 years after their official exit. That’s why we urge Belgium to ask the entire EU to withdraw as a coordinated group to get rid of this sneaky clause.
  3. The ECT reform does not have enough political support: The European Parliament has rejected the reform as insufficient and called on the Commission and Member States to initiate a coordinated withdrawal. Over 1 million citizens have signed a petition for withdrawal and eight of the EU’s Member States have already decided to leave (France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Luxembourg and Slovenia; Italy already left in 2016), including its major outward investors.
  4. There is no plausible scenario for the reform to ever enter into force if the EU remains a member. EU ratification requires the consent of the European Parliament and all EU Member States, including those that want to leave or have left.
  5. The ECT is an obstacle to sovereign climate and energy policies, even if it were to be reformed. The French High Council on Climate has concluded that the ECT, “even in a modernised form, is not compatible with the pace of decarbonisation of the energy sector and the intensity of emissions reduction efforts needed by 2030, as reiterated by the IEA and assessed by the IPCC.” Recently, investors have also started launching cases against policies adopted in response to the energy price crisis.
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