LETTER TO WORLD LEADERS CALLING FOR GLOBAL PLAN TO PHASE OUT FOSSIL FUELS

"Come together to protect what we love from the threat of fossil fuels"

Dear world leaders, 

We are not where we need to be. 

Scientists have issued a stark warning for decades: extracting fossil fuels threatens everything we love. Every year, we witness more devastating floods, wildfires, droughts, hurricanes, and heatwaves. Communities across the globe are already experiencing the harsh realities of this crisis, and the most vulnerable among us are suffering the greatest losses.

And it’s not just the climate crisis – fossil fuel air pollution is responsible for 1 in 5 deaths worldwide, the thirst for oil has sparked and exacerbated conflicts for decades, and the extraction of these resources causes devastation to biodiversity and nature across the globe.

Yet, despite overwhelming evidence, our global response remains dangerously inadequate. Year after year, governments have met at the UN Climate Talks to negotiate crucial frameworks to address this crisis – the most important being the Paris Agreement, under which the world has agreed to limit the global average temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.

But that threshold is very close to being broken, largely because we currently have no global plan to phase out fossil fuels fast and fairly. Last month, the UN Environment Programme warned that “current policies would deliver up to 3.1°C of warming… which would cause debilitating impacts to people, planet and economies”

Governments can currently claim to be climate leaders but continue to approve vast waves of new coal, oil and gas projects – because the Paris Agreement does not mention these words once. We have been negotiating emissions and targets while increasing fossil fuel extraction. In fact, we are currently on track to extract 110% more oil, gas and coal by 2030 than we could ever burn and stay below 1.5C. Despite their Paris pledges, five wealthy governments – the US, the UK, Australia, Canada and Norway – are responsible for most planned expansion from new oil and gas fields through 2050.

Enough is enough. What we build today will be what we use tomorrow. We must stop expanding the problem.

The science is clear: no new fossil fuel projects fit if we are going to meet goals of climate safety and we have to focus on building the cleaner, safer world we all want and winding down existing fossil fuel infrastructure.

We are joining forces today to call on governments to chart a new course to a safer future. We welcome the leadership of 14 powerful nation-states spearheading the push to negotiate a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty as a complementary plan that will help us meet the goals of the Paris Agreement, and we call on other countries to join them.

A Fossil Fuel Treaty is the missing piece of the puzzle. It would create a binding framework to end the expansion of coal, oil, and gas projects and manage and finance a fast and fair transition away from fossil fuels that is in line with the science and leaves no one behind. Many countries want to either transition away from dependence on fossil fuels or leapfrog directly to clean and safe forms of renewable energy but are simply unable to without a framework for international cooperation and finance. 

There is now a potential to build a justice-centred high-ambition international coalition of nation-states ready to lead the transition, who negotiate a treaty that is not consensus-based – meaning no single country can block others pushing to phase out fossil fuels. Given the result of the US election, supporting and uniting governments standing up to the fossil fuel industry to work together will be more important than ever over the coming years. 

Throughout history, governments had the courage to forge powerful treaties that have banned nuclear weapons, phased out landmines and saved the ozone. Now, we must do so again and come together to protect what we love from the threat of fossil fuels. Our children’s future depends on us seizing this moment.

Signed by 125 Actors, Creatives, Writers, Authors, Scientists, Academics, Youth Leaders, Faith Leaders, Activists, Civil Society Leaders & Health Profressionals

SIGNATORIES

Actors, Musicians and Creatives

  • Rosario Dawson

    Actress and Activist

  • Sophia Bush

    Actress, Activist, Entrepreneur

  • Busy Philipps

    Actor, Writer, Activist

  • Alysia Reiner

    Actress, Producer, Activist

  • Jessie Mei Li

    Actress

  • Carice van Houten

    Actress

  • Lily Cole

    Actress, Model, Entrepreneur

  • Jerry Cope

    Producer/Director

  • Sarah Alice Shull

    Actor and Writer

  • Roland Vossebrecker

    Musician, Activist

  • Joe Chester

    Musician

  • Lindsey Wixson Hill

    Model, activist

Writers and Authors

  • Kim Stanley Robinson

    Writer

  • Rebecca Solnit

    Writer

  • Zainab Salbi

    Writer and co-founder of Daughters for Earth

  • Sophia Li

    Award-winning climate journalist

  • George Monbiot

    Journalist

  • Katharine Wilkinson

    Writer and climate activist

  • John Moorhead-Guinea

    Author

  • Erika Olofsson Liljedahl

    Author

Scientists and Academics

  • David Suzuki

    Emeritus Professor of Zoology, UBC

  • Katharine Hayhoe

    Horn Distinguished Professor and Endowed Chair, Texas Tech University

  • Professor Anne Poelina

    Chair, Indigenous Knowledges and Senior Research Fellow, Nulungu Research Institute

  • Kate Raworth

    Senior Teaching Fellow, Oxford University Environmental Change Institute

  • Dr. Michael E. Mann

    Distinguished Professor of Atmospheric Science, Penn State University

  • Dr. Genevieve Guenther

    Author, Founding Director End Climate Silence

  • Professor Emerita Lesley Hughes

    Climate Change Scientist

  • Mark Z Jacobson

    Director of the Atmosphere/Energy Program, Stanford University

  • Jason Hickel

    Anthropologist

  • Professor Sir Andy Haines

    Former director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

  • Dr Fachruddin M Mangunjaya

    MSi, Chairman Center for Islamic Studies Universitas Nasional

  • Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò

    Associate Professor of Philosophy, Georgetown University

  • Kevin Anderson

    Professor of Energy and Climate Change, Universities of Manchester

  • Albina Arjuman

    Storyteller & Scientist

  • Claudia Kemfert

    Professor Energy Economics, Hertie School of Governance

  • Sandra Steingraber, PhD

    Senior Scientist, Science of Environmental Health Network

  • Professor Damon Matthews

    Department of Geography, Planning and Environment at Concordia University

Government Leaders and Officials

  • Valérie Plante

    Mayor of Montréal

  • Anna Reynolds

    Lord Mayor of Hobart and Board Member of the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy

  • Amanda Ellis

    Former New Zealand UN Ambassador

  • Jessica Stanley, PhD

    Area Director, Regional District of Nanaimo

Youth Leaders

  • Aditi Mayer

    Storyteller & Climate Activist

  • Xiye Bastida

    Climate justice activist

  • Sage Lenier

    Executive Director of Sustainable & Just Future

  • Elizabeth Wathuti

    Founder of the Green Generation Initiative

  • Mikaela Loach

    Author and Climate Justice Organiser

  • Disha Ravi

    Co-Founder of Fridays For Future India

  • Mitzi Jonelle Tan

    Climate justice activist and organiser

  • Dominique Palmer

    Climate Justice Activist, Writer

  • Eric Njuguna

    Youth climate justice organiser

  • Ayshka Najib

    Climate Justice Activist

  • Leïla Réau

    President of Swiss Youth for Climate

  • Leah Thomas

    Founder Intersectional Environmentalist

  • Tafadzwa Chando

    CEO of Chando Capital, Youth & Climate Activist

  • Mark Haver

    Youth Advocate for Ocean Climate Action

  • Bodhi Patil

    Ocean Champion

Faith Leaders

  • Baron Rowan Williams

    104th Archbishop of Canterbury

  • Rev. Fletcher Harper

    Executive Director of GreenFaith

  • Bishop Gerry Alminaza

    National Laudato Si' Program, Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines

  • Rev Dr Martin Poulsom

    Senior Lecturer in Theology, University of Roehampton

  • Revd Dr Darrell Hannah

    Chair, Operation Noah

  • Guy Wilkinson

    Trustee Faith for the Climate

  • Rt Revd.Olivia Graham

    Former Bishop of Reading, Church of England

  • The Right Reverend Jeremy Greaves

    Anglican Archbishop of Brisbane

  • Taualo Penivao

    General Secretary of the Ekalesia Kelisiano Tuvalu

  • Rode Wanimbo

    Coordinator of Women Department of Evangelical Church of Indonesia

  • Bruce Henry

    Presiding Clerk, Quakers Australia

  • Louise Cleary CSB

    Brigidine Sisters

  • Rev Charissa Suli

    President, Uniting Church in Australia

  • The Rt Rev'd Dr Paul Barker

    Assistant Bishop, Anglican Diocese of Melbourne

  • Sr Anne Lane

    President, Society of Presentation Sisters of Australia

  • The Very Revd Dr Andreas Loewe

    Dean of Melbourne, St Paul’s Cathedral

  • Jo Chamberlain

    Church of England National Environment Officer

  • The Revd Dr Sharon Moughtin

    Vicar of St Mary's Eco Church

  • Sheikh Shadi Alsuleiman

    President of the Australian National Imams' Council

  • Rev. Chris Parnell

    President of the Shepparton Interfaith Network

  • Most Rev. Gerardo A. Alminaza, D.D.

    Bishop, Diocese of Bacolod / Vice President, Caritas Philippines

  • Sr Wendy Flannery

    Sister of Mercy, Vice-President, Human Rights UN Association of Australia, Queensland

  • Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg

  • Stephana Wei

    Executive Secretary, Integral Human Development Team, Association of Major Religious

  • Superiors of Men and Women In Taiwan

  • John Arnold

    Bishop of Salford

  • Tomasz Zalewski OP

    Dominican Family Taiwan JPCC Promoter

  • Rev. Fr. Rodolfo Vicente Cancino Jr

    Executive Secretary, CBCP-ECHC, Vicar Provincial Superior

  • Fr. Liton Hubert Gomes csc

    Executive Secretary, Episcopal Commission For Justice and Peace-CBCB

  • Brother Chris Poppelwell

    Director, Champagnat Marist Centre, Fiji

  • Karon Donnellon RSM

    Leader of the Institute of Sisters of Mercy of Australia and Papua New guinea

Activists and Civil Society Leaders

  • Bill McKibben

    Author and environmentalist

  • Laura Turner Seydel

    Chair Emeritus, Captain Planet Foundation

  • Tom Goldtooth

    Executive Director, Indigenous Environmental Network

  • Kumi Naidoo

    Human rights activist

  • Princess Daazhraii Johnson

    President, Deenaadàį’ Productions

  • Pennie Opal Plant

    Cofounder, Movement Rights

  • Callum Grieve

    Co-Founder, Campaign Collective

  • Ingmar Rentzhog

    CEO, We Don’t Have Time

  • Osprey Orielle Lake

    Founder, Women's Earth and Climate Action Network 

  • Carissa Cabrera

    CEO, FutureSwell

  • Grey Gowder

    Executive Director, Carolina Ocean Alliance

  • Edwin Mumbere

    CECIC Uganda

  • Bianca Pitt

    Co-founder and Steering Committee, SHE Changes Climate

  • Dr. Gail Bradbrook

    Co-Founder Extinction Rebellion

  • Gerard Arances

    Executive Director, Center for Energy, Ecology, and Development (CEED)

  • Antoinette Vermilye

    Co-Founder Gallifrey Foundation and SHE Changes Climate

  • Eva Seo-Andersen

    Founder SpringWorks

  • Alex Lenferna

    General Secretary, South African Climate Justice Coalition

  • Kayinga Muddu Yisito

    Network Coordinator, Community Transformation Foundation Network

  • Rupert Read

    Co-director of the Climate Majority Project

  • Dirk Van Onsem

    Founder Beyonders Foundation

  • Lauriane Boutboul

    Climate community manager

  • Alexia Leclercq

    Executive Director of Start:Empowerment

  • Cameron Saul

    Founder and CEO, Togetherband 

  • Amber Nuttall

    Founder, Extreme Hangout

  • Charitie Ropati

    Yup’ik & Sāmoan Water Engineer & Climate Justice Advocate 

  • Muhonja Mujega

    Social and Cultural Activist

  • Shreya Ghodawat

    Host, Sustainable Tea with Shreya

  • Isabella Zizi

    National Organizer, Movement Rights

  • Amy Seidman

    Founder and CEO, Noble Profit

  • Nina Marenzi

    Founder, The Sustainable Angle 

  • Maya Mailer

    Co-Director, Our Kids' Climate 

  • Susan McPherson

    Founder, CEO and Author 

  • Annemiek Hoogenboom

    Founder of The Orchard Foundation

  • Danny Kennedy

    Venture Partner, New Energy Nexus

  • Katharine Wilkinson

    DPhil, Co-founder & Executive Director, The All We Can Save Project

  • Jane Burston

    CEO of Clean Air Fund

  • Karen Wristen

    Executive Director, Living Oceans Society

  • Tess Burrows

    Peace activist

  • Jane da Mosto

    Co-Founder, We are here Venice

Health Professionals

  • Dr. Jemilah Mahmood

    Executive Director, Sunway Centre for Planetary Health, Malaysia

  • Chris Zielinski

    President, World Association of Medical Editors

  • Dr Margaret Winker

    Trustee, World Association of Medical Editors

  • Vishnu Khanal

    Senior Editorial Board Member, BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, Research Fellow, Menzies School of Health Research

  • George D Lundberg

    President the Lundberg Institute

  • Semir Vranic

    Pathologist, Corresponding Member, Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina

  • Professor Dr. José Florencio F. Lapeña, Jr.

    Philippine Journal of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery 

  • Peter C Gøtzsche

    Professor emeritus, biologist, specialist in internal medicine

  • Akhtar Sherin

    Prof & Chief Editor, Khyber Medical University Journal 

  • Dr. Patrick Dave Q. Bugarin

    Vice-President for Linkages, Philippine International Studies Organization

  • Mirko Spiroski

    MD, PhD, Founder and Director of Scientific Foundation SPIROSKI, Skopje, Macedonia

  • Faruk Skenderi

    Editor of Biomolecules and Biomedicine journal

  • Prof Joseph Ana

    Pioneer/Advocate 12-Pillar Clinical Governance programme

  • Patrick Alexander Wachholz

    Professor, Editor in Chief of Geriatrics, Gerontology and Aging journal

About the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative

The Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative is spurring international cooperation to end new development of fossil fuels, phase out existing production within the agreed climate limit of 1.5°C and develop plans to support workers, communities and countries dependent on fossil fuels to create secure and healthy livelihoods. For more information on the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative and proposal, access here.

The concept of a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty is gaining significant traction around the world. It has been endorsed by more than 2000 civil society organisations like yours, over 3,000 academics, 101 Nobel laureates, the World Health Organisation and hundreds of health professionals, a Vatican Cardinal and hundreds of religious institutions, a growing number of Indigenous organisations and youth activists, over 200 cities and 600+ MPs across the world, the European Parliament, and a bloc of fourteen nations.