Emmanuel Macron mentioned “an important point requested by many”. France will withdraw from the Energy Charter Treaty (TCE), announced the President of the Republic, Friday, October 21, after a European Council summit in Brussels. This text was considered by several authorities and specialists as too protective of fossil fuels and therefore incompatible with the objectives of the Paris Agreement. Franceinfo returns to this withdrawal in four questions.
>> Climate crisis: we explain why the Energy Charter Treaty is compared to a “collective suicide”
1What is this Energy Charter Treaty?
This text was adopted in 1994 after the fall of the Soviet bloc. Objective: to offer guarantees to investors in the countries of Eastern Europe and the former USSR. Bringing together the European Union and some fifty countries, the Treaty allows companies that exploit fossil fuels (coal, oil, gas) to claim, before a private arbitration tribunal, compensation from a State whose decisions and he regulatory environment affects the profitability of their investments, even when it comes to climate-friendly policies.
For example, the German energy company RWE demanded 1.4 billion euros from The Hague to compensate for its losses after the adoption of a Dutch law banning coal by 2030. Italy was ordered to pay a compensation of 180 million euros to the British oil company Rockhopper, for having refused an offshore drilling permit. France is also being sued by the German company Encavis AG after the modification of the tariffs for the purchase of photovoltaic electricity in 2020.
Yamina Saheb, economist contributing to the IPCC report, the intergovernmental group of experts on climate change, has listed some 146 disputes related to the ECT. Two-thirds of these disputes are intra-European and the amount of compensation granted exceeds 42 billion euros. “This treaty prevents states from acting [en faveur du climat]. When you are a signatory, you lose your sovereignty over climate policies”she estimated with franceinfo.
2Why is France withdrawing?
“At the moment we are living in, we must instead focus our investments and move faster on renewables, energy efficiency, nuclear (…) and today, I watch with concern the return of hydrocarbons and fossil fuels most polluting”declared Emmanuel Macron, Friday, at the end of the European Council, announcing the withdrawal of France from the TCE to be “in line with our climate objectives”.
TCE “was not compatible with the objectives of the Paris agreement, recalled by the High Council for the climate and the IPCC”, supported Bruno Le Mairethe Minister of Economy. “We are making a strong decision that is consistent with our climate commitments and our strategy to accelerate the energy transition”, abounded Agnès Pannier-Runacherthe Minister for Energy Transition.
Critics against the TCE have multiplied in recent months in France. In an opinion published on October 19, the High Council for the Climate came out in favor of France’s exit from the TCE. “The coordinated withdrawal of the TCE by France and the EU Member States appears to be the least risky option to allow the achievement of climate objectives and the respect of the decarbonization rates necessary by 2030”, decides the independent body responsible for advising the government in the fight against global warming. In other words, leaving the ECT was essential to hope to respect the Paris climate agreement.
3What are the reactions in France?
“I am happy and proud. (…) This is the first big battle that we win after the Paris agreement”, reacted the economist Yamina SahebFriday, thanking Emmanuel Macron and Bruno Le Maire. “We would like the government to follow the recommendations of the High Council for the Climate”, rejoiced the climatologist Christophe Cassouco-author of the 6th IPCC report.
Attac France has spoken on Twitter of “victoire”. The association for the taxation of financial transactions and for citizen action adds: “Our long-standing mobilization against the TCE, a harmful and climate-killing investment agreement, has borne fruit.” Greenpeace France welcomes a “good news”. “Congratulations to all the organizations mobilized for this victory”wrote the NGO on Twitter.
On the political side, La France insoumise welcomed this withdrawal. Emmanuel Macron “take France out of Europe’s energy sector”wrote Jean-Luc Mélenchon. “So we can get out of harmful European treaties. The rebels were right. Can we discuss it in Parliament?”, he wondered. “When liberals see that the market leads to disaster, they come to our ideas”, welcomed Mathilde Panot, president of the rebellious deputies. “HUGE VICTORY for the planet against fossil companies”, exclaimed LFI MEP Manon Aubry.
4Which other countries have withdrawn from the text?
France is not the first to have taken the plunge. Russia withdrew from the treaty in 2009, Italy in 2015. Others are on the same path. Poland has launched a parliamentary procedure to withdraw from the ECT. Spain and the Netherlands have announced that they also want to remove the text, while calling for “a coordinated exit” by all the countries of the European Union. “I hope Germany will join us”said Pascal Canfin, President of the Environment Committee of the European Parliament.