PRESS RELEASE, FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, SEPT. 30

Motion Submitted by Councillor Carr for Vancouver to Become the First City to Endorse the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty 

Vancouver to consider endorsement of global equitable energy transition treaty

VANCOUVER - This week, a motion from City Councillor Adriane Carr for the City of Vancouver to endorse the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty was made public and will be considered by Vancouver City Council in early October. The treaty initiative is aimed at advancing an equitable transition to renewable energy and low-carbon solutions. 

The action follows on the heels of Vancouver’s pledge to divest from fossil fuels as one of 12 major cities joining the ‘Divesting From Fossil Fuels, Investing in a Sustainable Future” declaration. It supports and builds on the City of Vancouver’s commitments to become the Greenest City and accelerate climate action through the Climate Emergency Response Plan. 

Tzeporah Berman, International Program Director at Stand.earth said

“The City of Vancouver has proven it is willing to face the scale of the climate emergency and lead the world with bold action. It can do so once again by endorsing the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty. This will send a strong and urgent message that we can not overcome the climate emergency without winding down the production of oil, gas and coal. International cooperation is needed to ensure everyone does their fair share and that workers, communities and countries dependent on fossil fuels are not left behind as the transition to clean energy and low-carbon solutions accelerates.”

Vancouver City Councillor Adriane Carr said,

“Cities like Vancouver are taking bold action on climate, and we are putting our GHG emissions on a solid downward path. Yet all our good work is being undone by the expansion of oil and gas which is driving up our country’s emissions. We need a treaty like this to backstop our efforts by holding the fossil fuel industry accountable for the risks they create for Canadians and people around the world.”

According to the United Nations Environment Programme, national governments plan to expand fossil fuels at levels that would result in 120 percent more emissions than what is in keeping with the limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming.  The United Nations Framework Convention of Climate Change and Paris Agreement do not mention fossil fuels, highlighting the need for a complimentary treaty that tackles the production side of the crisis. This lack of accountability and transparency allows the gap between climate goals and fossil fuel production to grow. Communities that want to protect community members from the climate, health and economic risks for fossil fuels like Vancouver can only go so far when provinces and federal governments are moving in the opposite direction. 

The Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative, which publicly launched via an event at NYC Climate Week, has already been endorsed by hundreds of organizations and individuals including authors Naomi Klein and Bill McKibben. The Initiative puts a spotlight on these risks and provides a framework to foster international cooperation to eliminate them. The Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty 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 introduction video.

Media contacts: 

Cara Pike, Executive Director, Climate Access 
cara@climateaccess.org
1+250 709 1861

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