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22 AUGUST 2022 - Today, Lima has signed a motion calling for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, a global mechanism that aims to explicitly address the source of 86% of CO2 emissions that cause climate change: fossil fuels. The motion was unanimously approved by the city’s 39 councillors.

Lima Councillor Carlo André Angeles Manturano, who introduced the motion, said: “As we face the climate emergency as a society, the lack of firm commitments to action by our authorities and our governments is what brings us ever closer to irreversible damage. It is necessary to take firm action on one of our principal threats, the proliferation of fossil fuels, an industry that is projected to produce 110% more emissions than what is required to limit warming to 1.5C by 2030. That is why, on behalf of the Metropolitan Government of Lima, I presented the motion to join this crusade and call for the non-proliferation of fossil fuels in the city of Lima, and requesting the Peruvian national government to replicate this action and endorse the Fossil Fuel Treaty. It is with great enthusiasm that I welcome this unanimous decision of the Council of Metropolitan Lima and reaffirm my commitment to continue promoting the necessary actions at the local, national and international level to combat climate change.”

The Peruvian capital, which has more than 11 million inhabitants representing a third of Peru's population, is now one of more than 60 cities around the world to endorse the Treaty proposal, including London, Barcelona, Sydney and Los Angeles. They are also the 8th municipal government, and first capital, in Latin America to support the proposal following seven municipalities in Costa Rica. This is a first step for Lima, which has the second-worst air quality in Latin America, according to the World Health Organisation, due to its poor public transport system. 

Coal, oil and gas make up a majority of the country’s energy mix; considering transport, power generation and domestic use, fossil fuels account for more than 70% of Peru’s energy. While the burning of fossil fuels presents severe threats to human and planetary health, so does every stage of fossil fuel operations. Earlier this year, Peru suffered its worst environmental disaster when La Pampilla refinery, operated by Respol, spilled more than 10,000 barrels of crude oil off its coast, covering an area the size of Paris, tarring 25 Lima beaches, killing local wildlife and disrupting the livelihoods of coastal fishers dependent on these marine ecosystems. The Peruvian capital is home to the refinery, the biggest of the country, and other fossil fuel-related infrastructure due to its proximity to El Callao, the main harbour of the Southern Pacific region.

Augusto Duran, specialist in renewable energy and energy transition, and coordinator of the Treaty campaign at MOCICC (Peruvian-based Movimiento Ciudadano frente al Cambio Climático, a major driver in securing the motion's introduction), said: “The call of Metropolitan Lima, one of the largest cities in Latin America, to the Treaty initiative is a first big step towards opening debates on the need to leave fossil fuels in the ground and initiate a just and popular energy transition. It has a vindictive character since the coast of Lima and Callao has witnessed the greatest ecological disaster in recent times. As such, it will initially put pressure on the executive and the legislature regarding the need for policies that strengthen the climate and environmental struggle. Although the motion as such is a symbolic element, it strengthens these advocacy processes. That is why we want more cities to be able to make the call to the treaty.”

Claudia Campero Arena, Partnerships Coordinator for the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, said: “We are thrilled that Lima has become the first capital in Latin America to endorse the Fossil Fuel Non Proliferation Treaty. Given that Lima is the capital of a diverse country that has suffered the harms of fossil fuel extraction, this leadership is a welcome push for positive change in Peru and the region to a just energy transition away from fossil fuels. The vote came not long after the inauguration of Colombian president Gustavo Petro and vice president Francia Márquez whose climate leadership to phase-out fossil fuels demonstrates that the Latin American extractivism model is beginning to be seriously questioned.”

This endorsement reinforces the global momentum around the proposed Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty. The Treaty proposal is now supported by 101 Nobel laureates, 3,000 academics, a growing interfaith group of religious leaders, 320 parliamentarians, thousands of youth activists, and more than 1,500 civil society organisations, including several organisations across Peru such as Organización de Pueblos Indígenas del Oriente and Peru Sin Ecocidio.

Media contacts:

Jemma De Leon
Communications Strategist, Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty (USA)
jemma@fossilfueltreaty.org +1 909 536 9714

Augusto Duran
Treaty Campaign Coordinator at MOCICC (Peru)
aduran1515@gmail.com +511 974 628 390