Absolutely. The UK has demonstrated continued leadership time and again, and I was the first Energy Minister to sign net zero into law. We became the first G7 country to do so, beating France by one day. We must collaborate, and I am proud that we have now seen a huge number of countries commit to net zero. I think we are the first country globally to ensure that we have a Department for net zero, which must also be welcomed. I thank the Government for demonstrating leadership on this issue, but let us extend that leadership by not just changing the words on a plaque on a wall in a Department; let us ensure that the new Department can boldly show leadership by coming out and demonstrating to other countries that it is willing to act. Then others will follow.
There are now serious moves, both here in the UK and elsewhere across Europe, to leave the energy charter treaty as a matter of political priority. It is clear that any chance of reforming the treaty is over. The modernisation talks proposed last year have failed, because several European countries, including Germany, France, Spain and the Netherlands, have decided to leave the treaty due to reforms not going far enough to bring it in line with the Paris agreement. Even the European Commission, which previously led the modernisation process, has announced plans for a full EU withdrawal from the treaty.
Without support from the UK’s traditional allies in favour of the continuation of the reform process, it will be impossible for the UK to push through reforms on its own against the remaining, less climate-ambitious energy charter treaty countries. The UK’s previous position of supporting modernisation is therefore no longer credible. Instead, the UK needs to reach out to like-minded partner countries, such as Germany, France and the Netherlands, to begin the process of co-leading an orderly withdrawal from the treaty.
In February, a group of experts wrote to the Energy and Net Zero Secretary, calling on the UK to quit the energy charter treaty. Today, 15 Members of Parliament from the all-party parliamentary group for the environment—I see a number of those colleagues in the room, representing four different parties—have written to the Minister for Energy Security and Net Zero, my right hon. Friend the Member for Beverley and Holderness (Graham Stuart), to make it clear that withdrawal from the ECT is now the best option for the UK in the future. The letter states that there is now an overwhelming case for taking action to leave the treaty unilaterally, especially given that many European countries have left and the EU as a bloc has publicly announced its withdrawal.