Brussels – On Tuesday 6th July at 11am CET, activists will hang a giant four metre sword of Damocles above paralysed caricatured puppets of EU leaders at the European Council building – to highlight the threat of the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) to climate action. The stunt coincides with a fresh round of negotiations to try to reform the treaty (6-9 July online) – which is used by fossil fuel companies to obstruct laws to protect the climate – negotiation attempts which are failing.
There is rising controversy around the Energy Charter Treaty. It is accused of being a major obstacle to fast and effective action on the climate and environmental crises.
The EU has set the goal of trying to ‘modernise’ the ECT to be consistent with the Paris Agreement and European Green Deal. But talks are going nowhere – with major divergences between contracting parties.
Three EU member states (France, Spain and Poland) are pushing for the EU to be ready to walk away from the talks and to withdraw from the treaty.
Organisers Friends of the Earth Europe, Climate Action Network Europe, CNCD-11.11.11, and Rise For Climate Belgium will call on EU leaders to exit the trade treaty notorious for protecting fossil fuels.
Their visual stunt will accompany an open letter released by over 400 worldwide civil society organisations who say ‘enough is enough’ and call for the EU and its member states to exit the treaty by the UN Climate Summit in November 2021 in Glasgow.
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- WHEN: Tuesday 6th July 2021, 11.00-11.45
- WHERE: Esplanade in front of the European Council Justus Lipsius Building, Rue de la Loi, Brussels
- WHAT: A photo and video opportunity of a giant sword of Damocles suspended in the air, four actors dressed with giant heads depicting the German chancellor Angela Merkel, French president Emmanuel Macron, Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte, and EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen playing with inflatable planets; 40 colourful activists chanting and carrying signs saying “Exit ECT”.
- WHY: The Energy Charter Treaty is accused of being a sword of Damocles – hanging threateningly over decision-makers’ heads, deterring climate action on threat of multi-billion euro compensation suits.
High-resolution photos will be available to download at https://www.flickr.com/photos/foeeurope/ from 12:00 noon on the same day.
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INTERVIEWS
Interviews will be available with the following spokespeople:
- Cornelia Maarfield, Trade and Climate Project Manager, Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe, cornelia@caneurope.org, +49 170 8765 271 [EN, DE]
- Paul de Clerck, Economic justice coordinator, Friends of the Earth Europe, paul.declerck@foeeurope.org, (+32)(0)494 380959 [EN, NL]
QUOTE
Cornelia Maarfield, Trade and Climate Project Manager at Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe said:
“This toxic treaty is a sword of Damocles threatening to come down with multi-billion euro compensation claims when countries enact climate policies. We call on European leaders to end this perverse system by immediately withdrawing instead of wasting time in a failed reform process.”
Paul de Clerck, Economic justice coordinator for Friends of the Earth Europe said:
“What is being negotiated here is incompatible with the Paris Agreement. The climate crisis allows no time to wait for negotiations that go nowhere, so EU member states must pack up and leave the ECT by November’s UN climate summit.”
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BACKGROUND
The Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) is an investment agreement ratified by 53 countries including the EU and member states, that protects foreign investments in energy supply. It blocks action to transform the fossil fuelled energy system by allowing foreign coal, oil and gas companies to sue governments for actions that would harm their profits – including for climate protection. Earlier this year, energy companies RWE and Uniper claimed billions of euros from the Dutch government for its decision to phase out coal power.
For more information, see: media briefing.
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For more information, contact:
Robbie Blake, Communications team, Friends of the Earth Europe, robbie.blake@foeeurope.org, (+32)(0)491 290096
Nina Tramullas, communications coordinator, CAN Europe, nina@caneurope.org, +34 676030140
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Read a media briefing “Reforming the controversial Energy Charter Treaty is a mission impossible” : https://cloud.foeeurope.org/index.php/s/NrKAAm6a3nHQqxR
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