What is the Fossil Fuel Treaty?
By: Global Justice Now
Date: 19 July 2024
Campaigns: Climate
The climate crisis didn’t come from nowhere. If we want to tackle climate breakdown, we need to address its root cause of fossil fuels.
UN climate summits have made some progress on commitments to reduce carbon emissions from coal, oil and gas – essentially mitigating the harms of toxic fossil fuels.
However, coal, oil and gas have often been the elephant in the room, with little or no mention of them in final declarations from the UN climate summits over the years. Indeed, there has been little talk about the need to reduce the supply of fossil fuels – tackling the issue of climate breakdown at its root.
This is why at Global Justice Now; we are campaigning to get the UK and devolved governments to back the call for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty.
What is the Fossil Fuel Treaty?
Right now, the treaty is a proposal, first brought forward by Pacific Island States. These are countries where the climate crisis is urgently existential. The treaty would get governments globally around the table to discuss a fast, fair and funded exit away from coal, oil and gas – one that works for ordinary people, workers and communities across the world. The climate crisis is a global one, that calls for international cooperation and accountability – this treaty would provide both.
What does the treaty state?
Once enough countries have backed the call, negotiations can begin, making this plan one step closer to reality. There are three unshakeable principles to the treaty:
- Firstly, signatories would need to agree to stop all expansion of fossil fuels. Agreeing to this treaty would mean that there would be no additional new oil and gas developments, including Cambo or Rosebank which the government has said it will not oppose.
- Secondly, countries would agree to an international plan to phase out existing fossil fuel production in a fast, fair and funded way. In the UK, this could include a commitment for a just phase out of North Sea oil production for example, that would create green new jobs for oil and gas workers.
- Thirdly, the treaty would be a globally just transition treaty. Ideally, this would mean rich countries like ours in the global north would need to pay the climate reparations they owe and be willing to make a faster phase out.
Why should the UK and devolved governments back the treaty?
The more countries that back calls for a Fossil Fuel Treaty, the stronger a mandate the treaty will have to go forward into the negotiation stage, so that it can turn from an idea into reality.
To date, numerous countries and states around the world are backing the treaty proposal: including Colombia, the European Parliament, and in the UK, cities from Birmingham to Edinburgh and London. The UK can and should be next, and with a new government elected on a platform for change, it has a clear mandate to take the transformative climate action we need to see for the future of ordinary people, workers, communities and our planet.
Scotland has already taken some strong action on the international stage on climate – including being the first country in the world to provide loss and damage funding. Recent Scottish First Ministers have backed the call to stop the Cambo oil field off Shetland, and the Scottish Government suggested last year that its new energy strategy would oppose new oil exploration and put a date on oil and gas phase out. Backing calls for this treaty would show that the First Minister was serious about making a plan to phase out fossil fuel extraction in Scotland.
The UK has a clear historical responsibility to lead the way, given that when accounting for emissions from the British Empire, it is the fourth biggest historic emitter globally. Climate change impacts us all, but right now, those countries which are least responsible for the climate crisis are disproportionately facing the most devastating impacts of climate change. To right this injustice, it is only fair that the UK takes the ambitious action that is needed to enact a just green transition.
What can I do to take action?
Real change starts with ordinary people coming together and taking action to make our voices heard. By getting the word out about the Fossil Fuel Treaty in our communities, and mobilising to demand politicians to back it, we all have a part to play in transforming our world.
Our activists are mobilising around the country to do just this – and you can be a part of this. We want to seize the opportunity to grow our numbers, develop a network of climate leaders ready to organise their communities, and put pressure on our elected leaders and institutions to back the treaty.
Here’s some actions you can take today:
- Sign our petition and share it with your family and friends.
- Share this blog to get the word out.
- Write to your MP and local council to put pressure on them to back the treaty if they haven’t already – you can find a template letter here.
- Find out more about ways you can get involved with your local Global Justice group – or create your own with our support if there isn’t one near you.
Together, we can make this government back the treaty and end the fossil fuel era for good in a fast, fair and funded way.
