The world needs a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty now – religious leaders demand

There is an urgent call by diverse religious groups from Africa and across the globe for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, a binding international agreement that would halt new fossil fuel development, require an equitable phase-out of coal, oil, and gas, and commit resources for a just transition to a sustainable future for impacted countries and workers.

During a virtual event, the religious leaders and grassroots religious activists supported a legally binding treaty, asserting that it reflected a moral, spiritual and practical necessity, given the lack of progress in reducing fossil fuel production. 

They also called for people of diverse religions globally to support this call for governments and financial institutions by signing a multi-faith letter to be released prior to COP27.

“The main cause of the climate emergency is fossil fuels,” said Meryne Warah, GreenFaith’s Global Director of Organizing based in Nairobi. “For the sake of life and to prevent massive, cruel levels of suffering, Africa and the world need a binding agreement that stops new fossil fuel projects, phases out existing production, and provides generous support for a transition to a clean energy future and universal access to clean, affordable energy.”

Speakers included leaders active at local, national, and global levels. Religious activists Hilda Nakabuye from Uganda, who works with Fridays for Future in opposition to the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline, and Frances Namoumou, based in Fiji, of the Pacific Council of Churches, which actively supports the call for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, spoke about the devastating impacts of fossil fuel development and climate change in their communities. 

“In the Pacific Islands, people are already losing their homes, jobs, and communities due to rising sea levels,” said Namoumou. “To be faithful to their religious beliefs,” said Nakabuye, “people of faith need to call for an end to fossil fuels and a just transition for all.”

In a keynote address, Rev. Dr. Joshtrom Kureethadam of the Vatican Dicastery for Integral Human Development reiterated the Vatican’s recent support for a Treaty. 

Sheikh Yussuf Nassur, Religious Leader of the Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims, noted that continued reliance on fossil fuels directly opposes Islam’s central teachings, known as Maqasid Shariah. "Historically and presently, those hit first and worst by climate change in Africa and worldwide have a tiny carbon footprint. Why should they suffer while the world’s largest corporations and wealthy governments fail to act?"

"I signed the Fossil Fuels Non-Proliferation Treaty because weaning ourselves off of our dependency on fossil fuels is not only a vital first step in reversing the horrific damage we have done to this planet. I believe it is also my Islamic duty," said Imam Zaid Shakir.

The event served as a kick-off of a period of heightened intensity in public religious activism for climate justice.

Throughout October, grassroots religious groups globally are carrying out actions in France, East Africa, the US, Indonesia, Australia and elsewhere to protest new fossil fuel projects and to call on the world’s largest asset managers to end support for climate-destructive projects.

This global, month-long series of actions is organized by the GreenFaith International Network.

The Catholic community is also marking the release of the upcoming film on Laudato Si, “The Letter” telling the story of the Laudato Si’ encyclical letter and the unfolding ecological emergency. It’s the fruit of several years of work of Laudato Si’ Movement in partnership with Off the Fence (Oscar-winning producers of My Octopus Teacher) and the Vatican, premiering on October 4th.

The Fossil Treaty Initiative began in 2017 when the Least Developed Countries (LDC) group at COP23 stressed the need for: "an increase in ambition by all countries to put us on track to limit the global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius by strengthening our national contributions, managing a phase-out of fossil fuels, promoting renewable energy and implementing the most ambitious climate action." 

Recently, the President of Vanuatu, Nikenike Vurobaravu, made his country the first nation-state to call for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty during his speech at the recent UN General Assembly.

Beginning in 2021, Laudato Si’ Movement and GreenFaith have played lead roles in supporting a call by faith groups in support of a binding treaty. Such a compact would require an immediate end to new fossil fuel projects, a fair phase-out of fossil fuels, and a just transition for workers and communities, including universal access to clean energy.

The Treaty Initiative has attracted support from over 100 Nobel Laureates (including the Dalai Lama), 40+ cities, 250+ parliamentarians, 1,000+ NGOs, and 2,000+ scientists and academics.

“Religious groups have provided influential past support for international treaties in the past, most notably the Paris Agreement and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty,” said Ashley Kitsiya of Laudato Si’ Movement. “We have a legacy of vigorous public engagement that we intend to bring to the climate issue.”

 

Why African climate campaigners are unhappy with John Kerry

African climate campaigners have slammed US Climate Envoy John Kerry for showing a lack of comprehension of the magnitude climate change portends on the African people.

Addressing the African Ministerial Conference on Environment (AMCEN) taking place in Dakar, Senegal, John Kerry cautioned against investing in long-term gas projects in Africa as countries in the region wrestle with how to power their development with clean energy.

 

He said the viability of long-term gas projects could become a problem beyond 2030, the target date many developed nations have set to move to mostly renewable and curb the need for gas.

 

But “Africa is disappointed that John Kerry came to AMCEN without coming out strongly to deliver a bold commitment that would offer hope to families in the Horn of Africa, Sahel and the rest of Africa whose livelihoods have been turned upside down by a problem they have very little to do with, said Mithika Mwenda, the Executive Director of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA).

 

In his speech, Kerry denied that the West and developed nations bear responsibility for climate change and urged every country to bear the burden of its impacts. Further, he rubbed the Africans the wrong way by stressing the need for mitigation. Africans tend to favour a focus leaning towards adaptation.

 

Mithika said African CSOs consider it a mockery to the people on the continent when a top US diplomat spews out what Africans have heard over the years without telling them why his country continues to churn out tonnes of carbon emissions across the Atlantic and on its failure to honour its commitments on climate finance.

 

“A COP in Africa, undoubtedly, should recognize what has united all of us; special needs and circumstances on the continent that personify the impacts the climate crisis has condemned on humanity,” said Mithika.

 

Africa at the crossroads of taking climate action

 

A report by the United Nations University – Institute for Natural Resources in Africa (UNU-INRA) has identified climate change as a key driver to asset stranding in Africa’s natural resources sector, which contributes substantially to export revenues of a majority of African countries.

 

The research, Africa in the age of stranded assets, argues that managing the risks associated with asset stranding will be fundamental to sustaining government revenues from extractive resources.

 

As the urgency to act on climate change grows, international climate policies and the advent of low-carbon technologies are reducing the demand for, and value of, fossil fuels.

 

It is estimated that 60-80% of coal, oil and gas reserves could be classified as unburnable if the world is to avoid disastrous climate change.

 

This puts Africa at risk of asset stranding, especially in mineral resource-rich countries.

 

The report stands on deep contextual research from eight African countries; Angola, Ghana, Namibia, Nigeria, Niger, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia and offers voices and insights from the continent often missing from the global conversation on resource use and climate change.

 

Africa’ Special Needs and Circumstances

 

The African continent emits less than 4% of the global greenhouse gas emissions, but remains most vulnerable to climate change, according to science and reality.

 

The common position of Africa going to COP27 is the push for parties to acknowledge Africa’s special needs and circumstances, as countries are compelled to invest 2-9percent of their annual budgets to local adaptation projects.

 

Augustine Njamnshi, Chair, the Technical and Political Committee, PACJA, wants the US to stop dilly-dallying and avail to African people its fair share of climate finance to build their resilience.

 

“We take note of his [Kerry’s] acknowledgement of the current devastation occasioned by floods in South Africa, Mozambique, and Uganda, which have killed hundreds and displaced tens of thousands and the Horn of Africa countries which are on their fourth year of drought, with more than 18 million suffering food insecurity as a result,” he said adding that mere acknowledgement does not help if the largest GHGs emitter fails to honour its historical commitments and pay its climate debt.

 

The CSOs asked African governments to avoid carrot dangling and manipulations from the US and other reluctant rich countries, which want to advance their selfish interests in the name of climate action. 

 

According to Mamadou Barri, an activist from Senegal, Africans had expected Kerry to commit to supporting its agenda for the 27^th Conference of Parties (COP27) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change set for Egypt in November.

 

“Chief of our agenda in COP27 is recognition of Africa as a region of special circumstances and circumstance,” he said.

 

By Kofi Adu Domfeh

Floods, droughts, heatwaves, extreme storms and wildfires going from bad to worse – new report

The number of weather, climate and water-related disasters has increased by a factor of five over the past 50 years

Floods, droughts, heatwaves, extreme storms and wildfires are going from bad to worse, breaking records with ever alarming frequency, says UN Secretary-General, António Guterres.

He however observed there is nothing natural about the new scale of these disasters; they are the price of humanity’s fossil fuel addiction.

The message comes at the back of the launch of the World Meteorological Organization's United in Science Report, which provides an overview of the most recent science related to climate change, its impacts and responses.

“The report is a shameful reminder that resilience-building is the neglected half of the climate equation,” said Guterres. “It is a scandal that developed countries have failed to take adaptation seriously, and shrugged off their commitments to help the developing world”.

Countries in all continents of the world are experiencing colossal floods, prolonged and severe droughts and excessive heatwaves, with daily losses of more than $200 million dollars.

“This year’s United in Science report shows climate impacts heading into uncharted territories of destruction. Yet each year we double-down on this fossil fuel addiction, even as the symptoms get rapidly worse,” said the UN Secretary-General.

At the recent Africa Climate Week, civil society actors noted that the Loss and Damage resulting from anthropogenic climate change unjustly afflicts African people.

They observed that “cyclones Idai, record flooding and extreme wildfires and climate-induced droughts in the Horn of Africa, southern Africa and the Sahel, in the wake of locust plagues attributed to climate change are unjust legacies for people in Africa that has adversely affected the human rights and fundamental freedoms of the African people”.

World leaders pledged in the Paris Agreement to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees and build climate resilience. But the United in Science report shows that the targets are still way off track.

“Climate action is stalling on key fronts, and the poorest countries and people are being hardest hit,” said the UN Secretary-General. “But no country is immune. Our climate is heating rapidly”.

António Guterres wants the Glasgow decision to be delivered in full. The decision urges developed countries to collectively provide $40 billion dollars a year in new adaptation finance. 

“But it is clearly not enough,” he acknowledged. “Adaptation finance needs are set to grow to at least $300 billion dollars a year by 2030; at the very least, 50 per cent of all climate finance must go to adaptation”.

All countries must boost their national climate ambition every year, until we are on track, he added.

by Kofi Adu Domfeh

Momentum building for the African People’s COP27

The latest science and observations on the ground have confirmed that the impact of climate change in developing countries is indeed devastating.

Extreme weather events are increasing in strength and frequency, exacerbating hunger, water stress and misery.

 

Time is running out and the science is undeniable. Unless drastic action is taken now, the world will heat up well beyond 1.5°C, affecting hundreds of millions of people.

 

Climate change represents the most complex challenge which requires a concerted, proactive and holistic response to drive sustainable growth and development.

 

Climate change affects the poor of the poor, especially farmers, whose only source of income comes directly from the land, yet most have no idea of what they can do to adapt to climate change.

 

Agriculture and food systems will be affected as climate change has a multiplier effect on already degraded natural resources and ecosystems. This, in turn, will affect production systems in unprecedented ways, as well as the livelihoods of those that depend on them.

 

Africa remains highly vulnerable to disaster and climate risks, and other human induced hazards with related risks and disasters affecting millions of people, leading to loss of lives and livelihoods, causing conflict, migration, displacement, human insecurity and humanitarian challenges, which reverse development gains.

 

Climate change is therefore not just an environmental issue; it is an issue of human rights that undermines right to food, shelter, water, and health; it is an infrastructure issue because roads, bridges, houses and other super structures are threatened; it is an issue of trade, gender, and indeed climate change is a case of survival issue.

 

Without adequate mitigation and adaptation mechanisms, the attainment of the UN Sustainable Development Goals will be a mirage.

 

Seeking Solutions for Resilience

It is for this reason that governments need to explore means of building resilience: emissions must be cut faster, and poor countries must be supported in addressing climate change.

 

Access to cleaner and more efficient, as well as more sustainable sources of energy, sustainable land use practices and other activities, contribute towards building community resilience and thus mitigating competition for access to scarce resources.

 

For African civil society, concerns have been on climate finance to enhance community resilience.

 

The provision of climate finance to developing countries is an obligation of developed countries in the context of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement, to respond to the needs and priorities of developing countries in the fight against climate change.

 

For climate finance to be truly transformative and promote a paradigm shift to low-carbon and climate resilient development, especially in Africa, it needs to reach the most vulnerable, while promoting equity and justice.

 

It also needs to be delivered through mechanisms that are inclusive and ensure meaningful engagement from the national and local levels, particularly communities, localities, civil society organisations (CSOs) and vulnerable groups.

 

CSOs in Africa have been engaging with the main climate funds, the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the Adaptation Fund (AF), for many years, to ensure that the conditions are met for climate finance channeled via these funds to trigger the needed paradigm shift.

 

At the recent Africa Climate Week in Libreville, Gabon, the civil society actors under Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA) affirmed that “Sharm-El-Sheikh presents a unique opportunity post-Glasgow for the African people to expose and urgently address the massive and mostly ignored adverse impacts of climate change on the African people and also showcase climate solutions embedded within their traditional, indigenous and local knowledge; we aim to close the widening North-South divisions and the stalling of progress in climate action, particularly the urgent strengthening and implementation of NDCs”.

 

According to the African Development Bank, Africa will need as much as $1.6 trillion between 2020 and 2030 to implement its climate action commitments and the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

 

The CSOs have been exploring the necessary shifts in both policy and practice in the GCF to enable climate funding to reach and benefit those in the frontline of the climate crisis, including exploring adjustments at country level on the GCF funding mechanisms.

 

Going to the African COP

 

The 2022 edition of the Africa Climate Week discussed threats associated with climate change, as well as solutions the continent can implement to mitigate and adapt to the changing climate.

 

The high-level political push for collaboration on climate comes ahead of Africa hosting the COP27 UN Climate Change Conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, in November.

 

COP 27 has been nick-named The African COP, and is expected to push the adaptation agenda, which the president-designate has promised to support.

 

“Africa is undoubtedly the continent of promising opportunities,” said Sameh Shoukry, the COP27 President-Designate and Egypt’s Minister of Foreign Affairs who was in Gabon. “Yet, and despite contributing less than 4 percent of global emissions, we are now confronted with the impacts of climate change that are already curtailing our efforts for sustainable growth and testing the resilience of our communities”.

 

The climate impacts have left almost no region in Africa unaffected, making the continent one of the most devastated by the impacts of climate change, according to the latest IPCC reports.

 

Africa is obliged, with its already limited financial means and scant level of support, to spend around 2-3% of its GDP per annum to adapt to these impacts; a disproportionate responsibility that cannot be described as anything other than “Climate Injustice”.

 

“We will spare no effort to assist parties in engaging in a frank, constructive and dynamic dialogue that addresses loss and damage, including the central issue of new and additional finance dedicated thereto,” Shoukry assured.