Germany has formally decided to abandon an international energy accord that fossil fuel companies had used to oppose measures against climate change, the country’s energy minister said Wednesday, AP reported.

The move follows similar decisions by Italy, France, Spain, and other European countries to leave the 1998 Energy Charter Treaty, which includes provisions designed to protect foreign investments in a country’s energy sector.

“It’s true that the Energy Charter Treaty is designed and acts against the Paris [climate] accord,” said German Economy Minister Robert Habeck, citing cases brought by German utility companies against the Dutch government’s decision to end the burning of coal.