3,000 SCIENTISTS AND ACADEMICS CALL FOR A FOSSIL FUEL NON-PROLIFERATION TREATY

Thousands of academics have urged governments to negotiate an international treaty to tackle the climate crisis at its source: fossil fuels.

Thousands of academics and scientists across disciplines delivered a letter demanding a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty

We, the undersigned, call on governments around the world to adopt and implement a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, as a matter of urgency, to protect the lives and livelihoods of present and future generations through a global, equitable phase out of fossil fuels in line with the scientific consensus to not exceed 1.5ºC of warming. 

The fossil fuel system and its impacts are global and require a global solution. We call on governments to urgently commence negotiations to develop, adopt and implement a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty laying out a binding global plan to:

  • End new expansion of fossil fuel production in line with the best available science as outlined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the United Nations Environment Programme

  • Phase out existing production of fossil fuels in a manner that is fair and equitable, taking into account the respective dependency of countries on fossil fuels, and their capacity to transition;

  • Invest in a transformational plan to ensure 100% access to renewable energy globally, support fossil fuel-dependent economies to diversify away from fossil fuels, and enable people and communities across the globe to flourish through a global just transition.

The scientific consensus is clear that human activities are primarily responsible for global climate change, and that the climate crisis now represents the greatest threat to human civilization and nature. [1] 

The burning of fossil fuels - coal, oil, and gas - is the greatest contributor to climate change, responsible for almost 80% of carbon dioxide emissions since the industrial revolution. [2] 

To keep warming to below the temperature goal of 1.5ºC, as reflected in the scientific literature and the  IPCC’s special report on 1.5ºC, global greenhouse gas emissions need to be at least 45% lower globally by 2030. [3]

According to the most recent Production Gap Report, this requires an average decline in fossil fuel production of at least 6% per year between 2020-2030. However, the fossil fuel industry is planning to increase production by 2% per year. [4] It is vital that the global transition towards a zero carbon world is equitable, based on countries' fair share of expected climate action, their historical contribution to climate change and their capacity to act. This means richer countries must reduce production of fossil fuels at a faster rate than poorer countries that require greater support to transition, including through the redirection of finance and subsidies from fossil fuels to renewable energy. 

In addition to climate impacts, new research shows that the air pollution caused by fossil fuels was responsible for almost 1 in 5 deaths worldwide in 2018. [5] These significant health and environmental impacts are derived from the extracting, refining, transporting and burning of fossil fuels and are often borne by vulnerable and marginalised communities. At the same time, centralised, fossil fuel-generated energy often concentrates power and wealth into the hands of a select few, bypassing the communities in which extraction occurs. [6]

The current dominant approach to tackling climate change focuses on policies that restrict greenhouse gas emissions and the demand for fossil fuels, for example by fostering the growth of substitutes for fossil fuels such as renewable energy and electric vehicles. [7] But there has been limited focus on policies aimed at constraining the production and supply of fossil fuels at the source. 

Yet efforts to reduce demand for fossil fuels will be undermined if supply continues to grow. Continued production means either that fossil fuels will continue to be burnt for energy - pushing the world towards catastrophic global warming - or that the industry and countries reliant on fossil fuels will face massive stranded assets, stranded workers, and stranded economies, as government revenue streams currently relied on for development and public sector employment and essential public services evaporate.

While the Paris Agreement lays an important foundation for action on the demand-side of the equation, without international cooperation and policy processes focusing on the supply of fossil fuels, countries will continue to overshoot their already insufficient emissions targets. [8]

Given the significant historical contribution of fossil fuels to climate change, and the industry’s continuing expansion plans, we are calling for a solution commensurate with the scale of the problem. Phasing out coal, oil and gas in line with 1.5ºC requires global cooperation, in a way that is fair, equitable and reflects countries’ levels of dependence on fossil fuels, and capacities to transition. This, in turn, should be underpinned by financial resources, including technology transfer, to enable a just transition for workers and communities in developing countries and a decent life for all.

In this context, we add our voices to the call from civil society, youth leaders, Indigenous Peoples, faith institutions, cities and sub-national governments for a global treaty to address fossil fuels. [9] 

3,000 Academics & Scientist Signatories

Academics & Scientist Highlights

Katharine Hayhoe, Horn Distinguished Professor and Endowed Chair, Texas Tech University

Michael E. Mann, Distinguished Professor of Atmospheric Science, Penn State University

Prof Muhammad Yunus, Nobel Peace Prize Winner, Founder of the Grameen Bank

Erica Chenoweth, Frank Stanton Professor of the First Amendment, Harvard University

Rachel Kyte, The Fletcher School, Tufts University

Peter Kalmus, NASA Climate Scientist, Author of Being the Change

Julia Steinberger, Professor of Ecological Economics, University of Lausanne, IPCC WG III Author

Joni Seager, Distinguished Professor of Arts and Sciences, Bentley University

Saleemul Huq, Director, International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD)

Sandrine Dixson-Decleve, President, The Club of Rome

Priyamvada Gopal, Professor of Postcolonial Studies in the Faculty of English, Teaching Fellow at Churchill College, University of Cambridge

Kevin Anderson, Prof. Energy & Climate Change, Universities of Manchester & Uppsala

David Suzuki CC OBC FRSC

Timothy F Flannery, Palaeontologist, Australian Museum

Prof. Lesley Hughes, Vice-Chancellor (Research Integrity and Development), Distinguished Professor of Biology, Macquarie University and Councillor for the Climate Council

Ömer Madra, Co-Founder, Açık Radyo (Open Radio), Former Lecturer, International Relations and Political Science, Bilgi University

Dr Mark Diesendorf, UNSW Sydney

Prof Chris Rapley CBE, Professor of Climate Science, University College London

Mark Z. Jacobson, Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Stanford University

Lesli Bisgould, Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Toronto

Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Georgetown University

Linda S. Black Elk, United Tribes Technical College

Gaël Giraud, French Economist, CNRS, Senior Researcher and Professor, Georgetown University

Rosa Galvez, Professor, Laval University, Member of the Senate of Canada

Robert Macfarlane, Professor of Literature and the Environmental Humanities, University of Cambridge

John C Baez, Mathematical Physicist, Professor of Mathematics, University of California Riverside

Richard J. Roberts, 1993 Nobel Laureate in Physjaiology or Medicine, New England Biolabs

Dr Jason Hickel, London School of Economics and Goldsmiths, University of London

Emeritus Professor Will Steffen, Australian National University, Councillor for the Climate Council

Sir Jonathon Porritt, Co-Founder, Forum for the Future

Terry Tempest Williams, Harvard Divinity School

Dr. Nathan Hayward, Natural Resources Canada, Geological Survey of Canada

Mark A. Maslin, Professor of Earth System Science, University College London

Dr Rowan Williams, Honorary Professor of Contemporary Christian Thought, University of Cambridge and 104th Archbishop of Canterbury

Bill McKibben, Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Dr Lucky Tran, March for Science

Dr Genevieve Guenter, Affiliate Faculty, Tishman Environment and Design Center, The New School

Dipal Chandra Barua, Bright Green Energy Foundation, Co-Founder of Grameen Bank

James Dyke, Assistant Director Global Systems Institute, University of Exeter

Angela Carter, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science & Balsillie School of International Affairs, University of Waterloo

Dr Sarah Myhre, CO2 Foundation, Founder and Executive Director of the Rowan Institute, Kavli Fellow with the National Academy of Science

Jonathan Koomey, Ph.D., Visiting Professor, Researcher, Koomey Analytics

William J. Ripple, Distinguished Prof., Lead author of World Scientists' Warning of a Climate Emergency, Director, Alliance of World Scientists, Oregon State University

Academics & Scientists by Country