Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment her Department has made of the likelihood of an investor challenge being brought against the UK through the Energy Charter Treaty.

The United Kingdom is engaged in the process to modernise the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) to ensure it is aligned with her climate objectives and advances the British and global clean energy transition. Given the substantial investment required to support the energy transition, the ECT plays an important role in supporting these objectives by protecting British and global investments in clean energy.

The United Kingdom has investment agreements with Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) provisions with over 90 trading partners, including within the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT). There has never been a successful ISDS claim brought against the United Kingdom, nor has the threat of potential claims affected decisions taken by HM Government.