Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with the Welsh Government on the potential impact of the Energy Charter Treaty on climate targets; and if he will publish a criteria for how the Energy Charter Treaty could be updated in order to be compatible with international climate goals.

The UK Government has kept all the Devolved Administrations informed of modernisation of the Energy Charter Treaty and its impacts. At the Energy Charter Conference on 22 November, the decision to adopt the modernised Treaty was postponed and the UK is closely monitoring the positions taken by other Contracting Parties.

In the event that the modernised ECT is adopted, the Government will lay an Explanatory Memorandum in Parliament which will include an assessment of how climate provisions have been strengthened to ensure compatibility between the ECT and modern international agreements, including the Paris Agreement.