Sign the petition!
Santa Marta conference 24-29 April, Colombia
Although it has been know for many, many decades that burning fossil fuels causes climate change, nothing much to end that has happened so far. Even in the Paris Climate Agreement fossil fuels are not mentioned. It took until the end of 2023 for the final text of COP 28 (the 28th edition of the United Nations climate negotiations) to call for a global ‘transitioning away from fossil fuels’. Yet, COP 30, held last November in Belém, Brazil, did not manage to reach a decision to embark on a joint roadmap to achieve this. However, a coalition of the willing was formed to investigate how such a transition should take shape. This coalition will meet at the end of this month in Santa Marta, Colombia, for a first conference, jointly organized by Colombia and the Netherlands. More than 50 countries are expected.
The Paris Agreement clearly states that wealthy countries must take the lead in climate measures. Obviously this includes phasing out fossil fuels. That is not surprising: wealthy countries have the money to invest in sustainable energy. Poor countries are forced to remain dependent on fossil fuels for much longer. And that is exactly what fossil fuel companies are speculating on in their multi-year plans.
To put an end to this unjust situation, the initiative for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty was taken about five years ago. Various Faith Based Organizations (FBOs), including the World Council of Churches, were involved from the beginning. This initiative has grown rapidly, see https://www.fossilfueltreaty.org/
The intention of the Fossil Fuel Treaty is to achieve a Just Transition to renewables globally, so including in poor countries. Therefore, much more financial support from rich countries is needed than is currently available.
The FBOs have not been idle since then. Last year, an international multi-religious coalition was formed: Faiths for a Fossil Free Future. This coalition has launched a petition that will be presented at the Santa Marta conference. The petition can be signed by religious organizations, leaders, and individuals until April 24. ECEN has signed it and hopefully many organizations in the network will do so! See https://faithsforafossilfreefuture.org/
Because the Netherlands is a co-organizer of the Santa Marta conference, various FBOs in the Netherlands have jointly written a letter to the Minister for Climate and Green Growth, Stientje van Veldhoven. Among the signatories are the Council of Churches NL, Green Churches NL, A Rocha NL, Micha NL, and Christian Climate Action NL. In the letter, the Minister is urged to persuade the conference to support the Fossil Fuel Treaty Initiative. Ideally, the countries in Santa Marta will decide to start negotiating such a treaty. The initiative by the Dutch FBOs has received significant media attention in the Netherlands. See a.o. https://groenekerken.nl/
Naturally, the Latin American FBOs are also very active. They will make their voices heard during the first days of the Santa Marta conference. We European sister organizations wish our counterparts much success and inspiration!
Marijke Van Duin, Netherlands
Beraadgroep Duurzaam Samenleven, Council of Churches NL
Working Group on Climate Change, World Council of Churches