The European Parliament has approved a proposal to withdraw from the Energy Charter Treaty, an international agreement that protects energy investments. The treaty has been criticized for undermining efforts to combat climate change, as it allows energy companies to sue governments over policies that damage their investments. Several EU member states, including Denmark, France, and Germany, have already announced plans to leave the treaty, and the final decision is expected to be made in May. The EU’s withdrawal would significantly weaken the treaty, which currently has 50 signatories. The treaty secretariat has not responded to a request for comment, but Green EU lawmaker Anna Cavazzini has called the treaty “absurd” and said that it has “cost citizens billions in taxpayers’ money in the form of legal costs before private arbitration tribunals and compensation payments to multinational corporations.”