Today, more than 150 nationally-elected legislators from 30 countries around the world are urging their colleagues to join their call for a Fossil Fuel Free Future.
The call was initiated by over a dozen parliamentarians in the Global South covering Bangladesh, Colombia, Costa Rica, Indonesia, Kiribati, Palau, Philippines, Rwanda, South Africa and Timor Leste. Their collective demands have now grown to include voices from every single major continent.
ECO welcomes the call. Governments must get together and agree to the principle of no new production and set that as a global norm, and then begin the work of negotiating the drawing down of production over time, in line with what’s required by science.
This will only be possible when the governments who have gotten wealthy from mining like the US, Norway, Canada, the UK, and Australia are prepared to support countries to diversify their economies with the resources, access to technology and supportive international rules that give them the space to make and commit to these policies.
Together, these parliamentarians are demanding that world leaders embrace the spirit of international cooperation “given the huge historical contribution of fossil fuels to causing climate change, the industry’s continuing expansion plans, and demands on the public purse”.
Their demands are five-fold:
- End new expansion of oil, gas and coal production in line with the best available science as outlined by the IPCC and UNEP;
- Phase out existing oil, gas and coal in a manner that is fair and equitable, taking into account the responsibilities of countries for climate change and their respective capacity to transition;
- Commit to and pursue transformational policies and plan to ensure 100% access to renewable energy globally, support economies to diversify away from fossil fuels, and enable peoples and communities across the globe to flourish through a just global transition;
- Enact national budgets and fiscal policies that will support this swift and just transition nationally and globally; Ensure the timely and adequate delivery of public, additional and non-debt creating climate finance as part of the obligations of rich, industrialized countries to address climate change.
- Forge new international commitments and treaties complementing the Paris Agreement to address the urgency of a swift and just transition away from fossil fuel energy and build democratic, renewable, safe energy systems for all peoples and communities in line with the goal of keeping global temperature rise below 1.5 degrees Celsius and preventing climate catastrophe.
The parliamentarian’s demands align with those of a growing number of voices calling for a fossil fuel free world.
So what does ECO see as next steps? As governments discuss long-term goals and pathways in Glasgow they should create an agenda item or process to focus specifically on the issues these colleagues from across the world are raising: How will we stop expanding the fossil fuel industry? How will we plan for its phase out? And how will we resource the transition away from these polluting fuels?