10 October 2023, Paraparaumu New Zealand - Today, Kāpiti Coast District Council became the first local government in Aotearoa New Zealand to formally endorse the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty proposal. The proposed mechanism is now supported by 8 nation-states on 3 continents, including a number of Pacific Island nations and has gained personal support from Climate Minister James Shaw but is yet to have formal backing from the New Zealand government. 

Ahead of New Zealand’s election this Saturday, campaigners across the country have launched a campaign pushing the country to become the next nation-state to join the bloc of governments seeking a negotiating mandate for a Fossil Fuel Treaty to “phase out fossil fuel production, halt the expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure, and promote a just transition to renewable energy sources.” 

Just as nuclear-free cities played a crucial role in building momentum toward the negotiation of a Nuclear Ban Treaty, Kāpiti Coast has joined Sydney, the Australian Capital Territory, London, Lima, Kolkata, the State of California and more than 90 other cities and subnational governments globally who have formally supported the call for a Fossil Fuel Treaty. 

The resolution to support the Fossil Fuel Treaty proposal - led by Councillor Sophie Handford - urges the “New Zealand Government to join this growing coalition by publicly endorsing the call for The Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty” as well as “setting fair and clear timeframes to phase out” existing fossil fuel production. 

Councillor Sophie Handford, who tabled the motion at the Kāpiti Coast District Council, said: “We can’t have it both ways, signalling we see the climate crisis as an emergency but choosing not to take leadership. The ongoing production of fossil fuels has no place in our communities, nation or globe and today, we, Kāpiti Coast District Council, took that stand alongside the Pacific. We may be the first Council in Aotearoa to back the call for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty but we won’t be the last. Who’s next? What kind of ancestor do you want to be?

Tiana Jakicevich, Fossil Fuel Treaty Aotearoa NZ Campaign Co-lead said: “Nā tō rourou, nā taku rourou ka ora ai te iwi, with your basket and my basket our people will flourish. With the support of the Kapiti Council and our grassroots campaign, the call for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty to be backed by New Zealand is gaining momentum. Today we have seen the backing of a tomorrow for our mokopuna and Te Moana Nui a Kiwa. There is no better time than now to join this momentum, sign the petition or call on your council to endorse the call.”

The support from the first New Zealand council to back the proposal comes just two weeks after Timor-Lesté and Antigua and Barbuda became the latest nation-states to formally back the Treaty proposal. The growing support globally for the proposal comes ahead of an urgent push to phase out fossil fuels at the COP28 UN Climate Talks in Dubai this December, where supporters of the Fossil Fuel Treaty proposal hope to secure significant political support globally. 

The push for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty is spearheaded by a bloc of 8 governments – Vanuatu, Tuvalu, Tonga, Fiji, Niue, the Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste and Antigua and Barbuda – who have committed to lead the creation of a global alliance to negotiate Fossil Fuel Treaty. The proposal is also supported by the World Health Organization, the European Parliament, 101 Nobel Laureates, 600+ parliamentarians in 83 countries,  2,100 civil society organizations, 3,000 scientists and academics and over 90 cities and subnational governments.