Los Angeles city council unanimously votes in favor of groundbreaking initiative to phase out fossil fuels

PRESS RELEASE, FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, April 21, 2021

LOS ANGELES - Today, Los Angeles voted to endorse the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, becoming the first city in the US to do so. The treaty initiative aims to stop the expansion of oil, gas and coal and to phase out the production of fossil fuels in line with the Paris Agreement goals by increasing international cooperation for an equitable transition to renewable energy and low-carbon solutions. Today, oil, gas and coal are responsible for close to 80 per cent of carbon dioxide emissions and can no longer be ignored. 

Los Angeles’ endorsement of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty builds on the city’s climate action including the recent launch of the Climate Emergency Mobilization Office. The city is also working on legislation that would phase-out oil drilling within city limits. On the eve of President Joe Biden’s Climate Summit, Los Angeles is sending a strong signal that the new Administration’s commitment to phase out oil and move to low carbon solutions must be acted on.

The Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative gained its inaugural city endorsement from Vancouver, Canada in 2020, followed by Barcelona, Spain in early 2021. The Treaty has since gained endorsements from thousands of organizations and individuals including Power Shift Africa, Third World Network, Indigenous Environmental Network, Bill McKibben, Global Witness, 350.org, World Future Council, Stand.earth, Friends of the Earth, and more.

Following the leadership of Vancouver, Barcelona, and Los Angeles, municipal governments in New York City have also drafted a motion that would endorse the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty concept. 

Tzeporah Berman, Chair of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative and International Program Director at Stand.earth said:

“The City of Los Angeles’ endorsement of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty is a critical move to tackle the climate crisis without the expansion of oil, gas and coal production and to ensure an equitable transition to clean energy and low-carbon solutions. With the Biden Climate Summit starting tomorrow and the keenly anticipated COP26 at year’s end, Los Angeles can prompt a domino effect for climate ambition stateside as the rest of the world calls for action, including over 100 Nobel Laureates calling for the end of fossil fuel expansion today. It’s time for major cities across the US to take normal steps in solving the climate emergency and rebuild national credibility as an earnest partner in international efforts.”

Tahesha Knapp Christensen, Cofounder of Puvungna Wetlands Protectors and Member of the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska, said:

“The climate crisis is global but we feel the impacts locally here in Los Angeles. For a city known for its smog as much as its vibrantly diverse communities, moves like this by the Los Angeles City Council are an important way to champion environmental justice and the people most impacted by environmental hazards. Now is the time to stop fossil fuel expansion and build sustainable communities that promote the healthy development of youth and families.”

“Los Angeles and California have been leading the way on climate action, but we're not moving quickly enough and we need the world to join us at both the speed and scale of action necessary," said LA Councilmember Paul Koretz. "That's why an international Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty is so necessary. If you have lung cancer, you stop smoking. Our beautiful, fragile planet is overheating and we have to -- we must -- halt the ongoing reckless extraction and burning of fossil fuels, while we still have the chance.”

"Los Angeles is my hometown, so I know what it's like to grow up around polluting fossil fuel infrastructure. Disasters like the Aliso Canyon gas leak are a reminder of why we need action at every level of government to stop the fossil fuel industry from poisoning frontline communities," said Wilder Zeiser, SAFE Cities Campaigner at Stand.earth. "This resolution by the City of Los Angeles is so critical for our climate crisis because it's both a call for national action and a reminder of why we must continue passing local policies like SAFE Cities to protect the people living near fossil fuel infrastructure."

Carroll Muffett, president of the Center for International Environmental Law and Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative International Steering Committee Member, said:

“As Hurricanes Sandy, Katrina and Harvey show in the starkest terms, cities are on the frontlines of the climate crisis, with the poorest and most vulnerable populations at greatest risk. City leaders understand the gravity and urgency of that crisis because they are responsible for putting the pieces and the lives back together when disasters strike. In endorsing the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, Los Angeles sends a message to the United States and the world that the era of unchecked fossil fuel expansion must end, and will end, so the era of real and rapid climate action can finally begin.”

The Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty is critically needed as a complement to the Paris Accord to hold governments and the fossil fuel industry accountable for emissions from the production of fossil fuels. As it stands, national governments plan to expand fossil fuels at levels that would result in 120 per cent more emissions than what is in keeping with the limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming. Despite these plans, there is currently no mechanism in place to limit this fossil fuel expansion.

The Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty provides a vehicle to spur the international cooperation needed, drawing on lessons from global efforts to stop the spread of nuclear weapons and ban asbestos, ozone-depleting chemicals, landmines and other threats to humanity. It will advance action under three pillars:

1. Non-Proliferation - Don’t Add to the Problem
   An immediate end to the expansion into new reserves of coal, oil and natural gas would limit the globe’s production of carbon emissions (which if left alone would create more than twice over the limit set by the United Nations and other organizations).

2. Global Disarmament - Get Rid of the Existing Threat
   Since existing oil and gas fields and coal mines contain enough carbon on their own, phasing out those current stockpiles is a much-needed step to keep the world under the Paris Agreement’s temperature limits.

3. Peaceful Transition - Accelerate an Equitable Transition
   Every worker, community, and country must be taken into the deepest consideration on the way to fast-tracking all solutions. Only a proactive plan to enable economic diversification, implement renewable energy and other reliable, cost-effective low-carbon solutions will be able to meet the needs of a sustainable future.

For more information on the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, please visit the website and view the introduction video.

About SAFE Cities and the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative

SAFE Cities is a growing movement of neighbors, local groups, and elected officials phasing out fossil fuels and fast-tracking renewable energy solutions to ensure a just transition. Already dozens of cities and counties across the US – and several more around the globe – have passed concrete policies to keep their communities SAFE from fossil fuels, build renewable energy infrastructure, and create good, long-term jobs.

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.

The Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty and SAFE Cities are sister campaigns working toward the same goal – an equitable world safe from fossil fuels. While SAFE Cities are a locally based solution that people in every community in the world can act on without delay to achieve a just transition, the Treaty Initiative goes global by encouraging first mover governments to act now while spotlighting the need for global cooperation in a time of global crisis. Together they tackle the climate emergency at all levels of government to ensure high-level ambition is paired with accountable execution on the ground.

Media contacts:

Jemma De Leon, Communications Strategist, Climate Access
jemma@climateaccess.org
1+909 536 9714

Brenna, Communications Associate, Climate Access 
brenna@climateaccess.org
1+812 345 3139