Hi John,
In the last week, flooding has devastated West and Central Africa, killing over a thousand people and displacing nearly one million, while Brazil is experiencing record-breaking wildfires thanks to its worst drought on record. Closer to home, Storm Boric continues to wreak havoc across Eastern Europe and wildfires rip through Portugal, destroying homes and lives. Extreme weather is becoming an increasingly common part of our dangerously heating world.
Meanwhile, in speeches last week both Ed Miliband and David Lammy reminded us that the new government wants to be seen as a global climate leader.(1) Their appreciation of the gravity of the joint climate and nature crises is a good starting point, as is their explicit recognition that fossil fuels are to blame, and that wealthy countries must lead the way on climate action.
But can this government walk the walk? To tackle the climate crisis, it will need to take on the fossil fuel industry and help to end the fossil fuel era for good. That’s why, to turn ministers’ words into a reality, we’re asking the government to endorse the call for a Fossil Fuel Treaty, a bold and workable global exit plan from fossil fuels.
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This government’s promise to not approve new exploration for oil and gas, or any new coal projects, is a step in the right direction for UK climate action, as is their recent decision not to defend the building of the new Whitehaven coal mine in Cumbria - which has now been ruled unlawful.(2)
But it isn’t enough. Despite these moves, the UK is currently expanding fossil fuel production capacity at one of the highest rates in the world. Oil and gas licenses granted by the previous government continue to be handed out; the 72 being issued this year would result in an estimated 101m tonnes of emissions, the highest level for 50 years.(3)
The UK cannot hope to be taken seriously by climate-vulnerable countries while simultaneously continuing to expand fossil fuel projects at home.
A Fossil Fuel Treaty calls for:
- A complete end to new fossil fuel exploration
- A fair phaseout of existing fossil fuel use
- A globally just transition to renewable energy
It is heartening to hear the new foreign secretary, David Lammy, acknowledge the need to phase out fossil fuels globally and that the UK has a significant role to play in this process. Ending the fossil fuel era as quickly as possible is essential for our battle against the climate crisis, but for this we urgently need a plan for coordinated global action.
We also need a plan that ensures that those workers, communities and countries who rely on the fossil fuel industry don’t get left behind in the transition.
That plan exists in the Fossil Fuel Treaty.
And it is right that the UK takes a leading role in launching and financing this globally just transition. After all, this country took a leading role in the industrial revolution that kickstarted the climate crisis in the first place. Not only this, but as one of the countries with the lowest dependency on fossil fuels and the highest capacity to transition away from them, the UK is best-placed to support those with less capacity.(4) And since the world will not stop getting hotter unless all countries transition together, this is firmly in our interests.
As we approach COP29, Labour’s first COP in government, we need to see these strong opening words from our new government converted into decisive action.
The Fossil Fuel Treaty is a concrete plan for action that has been tabled by some of the most climate-vulnerable nations in the global south. If the government is serious about supporting the global south through the green energy transition, as it should be, it must pay real attention to this demand.
Help us show the government what it really means to be a climate leader, by adding your voice to our petition for a global exit plan from fossil fuels.
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Thank you,
Daisy Pearson
Activism team, Global Justice Now
Notes
1. Foreign Secretary's speech on the climate crisis, 17 September 2024;
Energy UK conference 2024: keynote speech by Ed Miliband, 17 September 2024
2. Coal mine plan quashed by High Court, BBC News, 13 September 2024
3. Revealed: wealthy western countries lead in global oil and gas expansion, Guardian, 24 July 2024
4. ‘Inexcusable’: should climate hypocrites get the petrostates label?, Guardian, 24 July 2024
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