21 May 2023 – Gathered in Hiroshima, Japan, for a G7 largely dedicated to building lasting world peace, these governments who claim to be ‘climate leaders’ have today framed public investment in fossil fuels as “appropriate” and have called for expansion of an industry that is the primary cause of not only the climate crisis, but multiple conflicts and wars over recent decades.

The final Leaders’ Communiqué included final text such as “we stress the important role that increased deliveries of LNG can play, and acknowledge that investment in the sector can be appropriate” and “publicly supported investment in the gas sector can be appropriate.“ These statements fly in the face of the latest science and undermine any credibility these seven nations hold as climate leaders.

The symbolic choice of Hiroshima - which was the first city to be bombed with an atomic weapon in 1945- highlighted the G7 focus on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. However, G7 countries cannot discuss the construction of sustainable peace globally without addressing the most widespread weapons of mass destruction: oil, gas and coal. 

Fossil fuels are the substances responsible for 86% of CO2 emissions in the last decade, fueling the climate crisis but also fueling a series of conflicts across the world, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine that was also on the G7 agenda.

Alex Rafalowicz, Director of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty initiative, said: “Just as there is no chance of solving the nuclear threat without the active support of the G7, there is no chance of solving the climate threat without the G7 committing to ending fossil fuels proliferation. Rather than promoting outdated and devastating oil, gas and coal projects, G7 countries must invest in economic diversification away from fossil fuel production and provide their fair share of financial support to the least responsible and most affected countries. If the leaders of these wealthy governments were serious about tackling the climate crisis they would join Pacific governments who are pushing to form an alliance of nations to negotiate a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty. Instead, today they have chosen to side with the fossil fuel industry and attempt to justify their ongoing expansion.”

Svitlana Romanko, Co-founder and Director of Razom We Stand, said: "50 years ago Hiroshima was bombed by nuclear weapons. Today my country, Ukraine, is bombed by fossil fuel weapons. If the G7 countries want to ensure global energy security and peace, they have no choice but to end our dependence on fossil fuels. The G7 has the means and the responsibility to stop the chaos generated by oil, gas and coal production and it should impose the full ban of Russian oil and gas, further closing the loopholes in sanctions for China, India and the like. The first step further would be to support a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, the missing legal mechanism that could prevent today's multiple Hiroshimas and help build a world based on justice and peace.”

Calls for G7 leaders to end the fossil fuel madness are coming from different sectors of civil society. At their Y7 summit, the young people the G7 countries are supposed to represent urged the world's most advanced economies to stop being the biggest climate polluters and to support the development of a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty. 

For the sake of peace, religious leaders and people of diverse religions have also called on G7 Prime Ministers to stop supporting new fossil fuel projects, domestically and internationally, and to commit to developing a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty in an Open Letter for Peace With the Planet.

The Rev. Fletcher Harper, Executive Director of GreenFaith, one of the organisations that signed the letter, said: “No religion teaches that it is right to violently destroy the planet. Yet that is exactly what the continued development and production of fossil fuels does. Millions of innocent people are losing their homes and livelihoods. Millions more are injured or killed by severe storms, scorching heat waves, and merciless droughts. This inhumane destruction is accelerating. G7 leaders missed again the opportunity to act now. As the world’s most advanced economies, they have a unique moral responsibility to take action first. A Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty is an essential step towards steering the human family towards a survival future. For the sake of every value we hold most dear - peace, compassion, love and justice.”