World Economic Forum: This is why we need a fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty

This November, 195 countries are set to gather in Glasgow, Scotland for the long-awaited COP26, the 26th annual summit of the United Nations Climate Change Conference. Together, they will work to deliver on their Paris Agreement commitments by reviewing and ratcheting up their climate plans for the upcoming decade, a critical move as extreme weather and climate action failure top the World Economic Forum’s 2021 global risk list.

But the Paris Agreement, important as it is, does not reference fossil fuels as the main contributors to climate change.

This omission has been receiving growing attention. It has been highlighted by the annual Production Gap Report, which is put together by leading research institutions and experts, in collaboration with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). Civil society groups, and many of the particularly climate-vulnerable Pacific Island countries, have also called attention to the omission.

Recently, a new wave of activists (from young people to Indigenous Peoples, peace groups and labour unions) have joined cities, parliamentarians, scientists and over 101 Nobel Laureates in calling for global action and cooperation on the question of fossil fuel production.

They recognise that the Paris Agreement requires a complementary mechanism to drive a global and equitable transition away from coal, oil, and gas production, and are calling for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty.