What is the fossil fuel non-proliferation movement?
Also: Light pillars!
This week:
- What is the fossil fuel non-proliferation movement?
- Look, up in the sky! Light pillars!
- Biodiversity needs same protection as climate, say scientists, activists at COP27
What is the fossil fuel non-proliferation movement?
One hallmark of global climate summits in recent years is the call from activists to wind down fossil fuel use. But at this year's COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, leaders from some island countries are adding their voices to that chorus, urging world leaders to adopt a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty.
"More fossil fuel extraction means more loss and damage experienced by our island homes," said Samoan climate activist Brianna Fruean, speaking at COP27. "A COP that does not address fossil fuels is a COP that does not address the root cause of the climate crisis, and a COP that is complicit in the devastation of my people."
The Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty is a proposed international agreement to end all new exploration and production of fossil fuels and phase out existing production of fossil fuels to reach the 1.5 C global climate target.
The campaign cites a recent study in the journal Nature that found nearly 60 per cent of oil and methane gas and 90 per cent of coal must stay in the ground to meet that target. The proposed treaty also calls for governments to pursue a just transition to renewable energy for all workers globally.
The Pacific island country of Tuvalu called for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty in the opening days of COP27, the first time a country has done so at an international climate conference. Tuvalu was only the second country ever to publicly make such a demand, following neighbouring Vanuatu, which called for it in September.
The treaty has the support of international organizations such as the World Health Organization and the Vatican. The European Parliament endorsed the proposal in October, encouraging its member states to work on developing it. Seventy cities and subnational governments worldwide have also signed on to support the treaty, along with thousands of scientists, academics, researchers and faith leaders.
The fossil fuel industry has earned huge profits this year — in part because of energy shortages caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine — a fact that has drawn the attention of world leaders and raised questions at COP27 over whether those profits should be used to pay for the costs of climate change.
At the opening of the conference, the prime minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley (photo above), called on oil and gas companies to contribute 10 cents of every dollar of profit to a fund to help poor countries recover from climate change-linked disasters. "This is what our people expect," she said.
Growing international pressure on the fossil fuel industry included sharp words from UN Secretary General António Guterres, who raised the issue of "bogus net-zero pledges" at the release of a new report on the net zero commitments made by companies, financial institutions, cities and regions.
Net zero pledges by companies are of prime importance to Catherine McKenna, the former Canadian federal environment minister and current head of the expert group that wrote the report. The report offers recommendations for how to ensure those promises are met, including tackling greenwashing through government regulation.
When it comes to net zero promises made by companies, McKenna told What On Earth host Laura Lynch that it's hard "to track exactly how folks are doing, because they aren't reporting transparently."
One of the recommendations in the report is for the UN to create a publicly accessible Global Climate Action Portal, where companies must report their progress annually with independently verified figures.
At the same time, more than 600 fossil fuel lobbyists were registered to attend COP27, according to one advocacy group.
What On Earth requested interviews with representatives from the industry about the demands for a phase-down of fossil fuels. Pathways Alliance, an organization representing oilsands companies, initially agreed, then cancelled, and later did an interview with CBC Radio's The House. It sent a written statement saying it is in Sharm el-Sheikh to showcase plans for carbon capture and storage in Alberta, part of its plan to get to net zero by 2050.
The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) declined an interview request. In response to questions about the call for fossil fuel companies to compensate vulnerable countries with part of the profits they've made this year, CAPP sent a written statement saying its members are paying increased royalties to the Canadian government because of higher oil and gas prices, and that the government can determine the best use of those funds.
CAPP also said "global demand for natural gas and oil will remain strong for decades and Canada has a role to play in providing safe and lower-emission resources to the world's energy mix."
But McKenna said fossil fuel development must end as soon as possible if the world is to reach its climate goals. "That's the science from the IPCC," she said, emphasizing that modelling from the International Energy Agency "shows that as well."
She said Canada, like Europe, ultimately needs to move toward regulating large companies in order to meet national climate targets.
"Governments need to step up," she said. "The laws requiring this will really drive this change. And, gosh, we need it."
— Rachel Sanders
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