European Union countries unanimously agreed on Thursday to quit an international energy treaty over concerns that it protects fossil fuel investments and undermines efforts to fight climate change, the Belgian EU presidency said.
“I’m very happy and I will thank all of you around the table to work hard with the Belgian presidency team to break the stalemate on this file,” Belgian Energy Minister Tinne Van der Straeten said. .“This is a historic moment and a significant victory for climate justice campaigners across Europe,” Climate Action Network Europe said in a statement, adding the pressure would now be on those remaining EU countries that have yet to exit the ECT.
Before leaving, the EU agreed it will first approve reforms to the treaty – which aimed to make it more climate-friendly, but which some European governments said fell short.