After months of speculation, Spain has officially kicked off the process of withdrawing from the Energy Charter Treaty , a European treaty that seeks to protect energy investments, over climate concerns. Spain will become the second country to withdraw from the treaty after Italy pulled out in 2016. Spain’s Energy Minister Teresa Ribera has told Politico that the country is now “certain” to withdraw from the treaty. The ECT, which dates back to 1998, was designed to secure energy supply in the region and offer protection to companies investing in the energy industry. It was originally meant to support the energy sector in the former Soviet Union, allowing investors to sue governments over policies that jeopardize their investments. However, over the past few years, the treaty has been used by both fossil fuel and renewable energy companies in other European countries to sue governments for regulation changes that threaten […]