A growing coalition of 17 countries is leading an unprecedented global campaign in support of a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, and this is a landmark movement in global climate negotiations as we head to COP30. This is the first initiative of its kind, led by the Pacific island nations who are at existential risk due to climate change, and is the most concerted to date to build a binding international framework, directly targeting the production and consumption of fossil fuels.
Pacific countries take the lead in historic climate project
The Fossil Fuel Treaty Initiative says that after decades of climate negotiation, fossil fuels are now dragged to the centre stage. Nevertheless, new coal, oil, and gas projects continue to be green-lit by many governments – worsening our ability to keep warming under 1.5 o C, which is urgent and requires concerted effort.
It is clear as ice: we now require a solid, binding roadmap to terminate the proliferation of new coal, oil, and gas ventures and to administer an international shift to fossil fuels. A growing number of 17 countries are seeking a negotiating mandate to protect people against the threat that fossil fuels pose to our climate, our health, and our future.
Paris Agreement gaps resolved by the treaty
The proposed treaty would be a complement to the Paris Agreement by offering the global roadmap required to stop the growth of fossil fuels, control a fair phase-out of coal, oil, and gas, and precondition a real just energy transition where no worker, community, or country would be left behind.
The Paris Agreement establishes a standard in climate action globally via its temperature target. Nonetheless, even though fossil fuels are explicitly defined as the primary contributor to the climate crisis, they are not mentioned even once in the leading climate agreement on the planet.
Thorough transition shall be achieved through a pillar approach
Only focusing on emissions cuts and demand without providing fossil fuel supply has enabled countries and companies to boast that they are climate leaders, whilst they keep opening, approving, and funding new fossil fuel projects. History has shown that international agreements work to confront international dangers such as nuclear weapons or landmines.
Momentum now increasingly supports the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty proposal, which has currently gained leadership by a rising coalition of nation-states – Vanuatu, Tuvalu, Tonga, Fiji, the Solomon Islands, Niue, Antigua and Barbada, Timor-Leste, Palau, Colombia, Samoa, St. Kitts and Nevis, Nauru, the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Pakistan and the Bahamas.
The international support increases the urgency
The proposed treaty was founded on three pillars: non-proliferation to stop the increase of the problem by the elimination of the growth of coal, oil, and gas production; a just phase-out to provide a fair procedure for the winding down of the current production of fossil fuel; and a just transition to rapid implementation of renewable energy and economic diversification.
Our planet is at a crossroads. Lives and means of livelihood are in danger. Governments need to do so accordingly, stop pouring fuel on the flames, and become part of the bloc of nation-states that are pursuing a Fossil Fuel Treaty negotiating mandate that will help create a safer world. The Pacific states have also formed a coalition of countries headed by Vanuatu and Tuvalu, which is inviting the nation-states to join them in developing a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty.
The Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty is a breakthrough in the field of climate diplomacy because it targets the production of fossil fuels per se and not just emissions. With 17 countries in the lead and growing global support, such an initiative could provide the binding framework necessary to achieve the 1.5 o C target of the Paris Agreement with concrete action towards the phase-out of fossil fuels and the fair conversion.