FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

The Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative is a global movement to help countries work together to create a legally binding treaty that would help the world switch to clean energy; stop the growth of oil, gas, and coal; and phase out existing extraction in a fair and equitable way. It’s building a bloc of countries who are doing what scientists say is needed to tackle the climate crisis. There are currently 13 nation-states working on negotiating a Fossil Fuel Treaty and we are calling on governments to join them. 

It’s not just us calling for this, the Treaty proposal has been endorsed by thousands of organisations and individuals including over 2,500 civil society organisations, 3,000 scientists, 101 Nobel Prize winners, the World Health Organisation and thousands of religious institutions, Vatican cardinals, IPCC authors, the Dalai Lama and the European Parliament, Indigenous nations, youth activists, over 110 cities, and 550 parliamentarians across the world. This isn’t a controversial idea. What’s controversial is approving new oil and gas projects while people are dying from the climate crisis.

Fossil fuels are the primary cause of the climate crisis, responsible for 86% of carbon emissions in the past decade, leading to water and food shortages, floods, heatwaves, and extreme weather that harm people and livelihoods. They drive wars, threaten wildlife, and fuel corruption globally. They are also the biggest cause of early deaths worldwide, causing 1 in 5 deaths due to air pollution. Despite these dangers, fossil fuel companies and governments plan to produce 110% more by 2030 than what’s safe for our planet, and there is no international agreement on transitioning to clean energy.

Major climate treaties like the Paris Agreement don't even mention fossil fuels, leaving the most at-risk countries, which have benefited least from fossil fuels, without a pathway to cleaner and fairer alternatives.

The world has used treaties to tackle global threats like nuclear weapons, landmines and chemicals that were destroying the ozone. Many of these treaties have been negotiated incredibly quickly – the Nuclear Ban Treaty was negotiated in just two-week long meetings in 2017, Mine Ban Treaty that ended the era of landmines was negotiated across two meetings just over a year apart. History shows that these negotiations are faster when people-powered social movements are pushing countries to act fast. The journey to a treaty also matters. Just us calling for a framework to phase out fossil fuels can push our governments to act now and put this issue in the global spotlight. We don’t have time to wait.

Yes, many treaties have had an impact on countries that haven’t signed them. For instance, the U.S. never signed the Mine Ban Treaty yet phased out anti-personnel mines. A treaty would be legally binding on those who have ratified it, but would create significant pressure on others to act. Thirteen countries, including two fossil fuel producers, are urging others to join negotiations for a Fossil Fuel Treaty, believing it’s in their best interest to shift away from harmful resources. As more countries join, pressure on major producers like the US, Norway, and Saudi Arabia will grow, compelling them to act. As an example, public pressure led the United States to pause permits for new LNG export terminals due to rising domestic energy costs.

Countries that produce fossil fuels but are committed to phasing them out in line with the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C goal, and planning a fair transition can support the Fossil Fuel Treaty. Some nations can't stop fossil fuel extraction and production without international help and finance, which is why we need this Treaty. Timor-Leste and Colombia, both fossil fuel producers, support the treaty even though they are heavily dependent on oil and gas revenue.

The world’s landmark climate treaty – the Paris Agreement – makes no mention of fossil fuels. The words “coal”, “oil” and “gas” are not in it even once. For years, people have pushed for fossil fuels to be addressed in the UN Climate Talks, but it has been painfully slow. Last year in Dubai we finally saw the issue dragged onto the main stage – and while the ‘F words’ were mentioned in the outcome this text was full of loopholes, and not legally binding. Since COP28, many countries – including the US, UK, Australia, Canada and Norway – have approved new fossil fuel projects despite supporting “a transition”. We don’t need a few words, we need real action and a binding plan for how the world will work together to transition to a fossil free future.

The problem is that governments give huge subsidies to oil, gas, and coal companies—over one trillion dollars just in 2022. This stops the market from shifting to renewable energy, which is now cheaper in many places. Without a treaty like the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, fossil fuel companies will keep ignoring climate science and policies, and keep producing more. A global transition needs careful management by governments to be fair and just. Relying on the market alone would create unfair outcomes, especially for communities in the Global South.

If the transition isn’t fair and globally coordinated, many countries won’t be able to do it alone. Wealthy fossil fuel-producing countries like Canada, the US, the UK, Norway, and Australia are the biggest historical climate polluters and have the most resources to switch to clean energy. They should also help other countries transition. This is crucial because countries in the Global South are least responsible for climate change, most affected by it, and have the hardest time moving to renewable energy in a fair way. For instance, Nigeria and Ecuador drill for oil to pay off debts to wealthy Northern countries. Therefore, wealthy countries would contribute by providing public finance and debt relief, helping build capacity in the Global South, and sharing technology, all while considering trade agreements and laws.

For the Global south, fossil fuels are actually anti-development. They harm people and their rights, pollute the air and water of communities near production sites and beyond. They have failed to provide citizens with electricity – leaving 700 million people in Africa in the dark with no power, a crisis that can be solved with decentralised, cheap, clean renewable energy. The International Energy Agency says there's already enough oil, gas, and coal in production to meet current needs while we shift to renewable energy. Every region has enough renewable energy potential to ensure access for everyone and boost economic progress, including in the Global South. The push to negotiate a Fossil Fuel Treaty is led by 13 countries from the Global South.

No, the terms and text of the treaty haven't been written yet. We’re calling on our government to join 13 nation-states who are seeking to negotiate the text of the Treaty in the near future. These countries will decide the best forum for negotiations and may even create a new one to apply pressure on major fossil fuel producers outside the United Nations. Researchers and legal experts assert that this treaty is not only possible, but necessary. They have already outlined the key principles and institutional mechanisms required. Their call to action includes three crucial principles: (i) ending expansion, (ii) equitably phasing out fossil fuels, and (iii) ensuring a global just transition.