Island nations lead plea for fossil fuels non-proliferation treaty

THE world should confront climate change in the way it does nuclear weapons by agreeing to a non-proliferation treaty that stops further production of fossil fuels, a small island leader has proposed, as vulnerable nations pushed for action at international climate talks.

“We all know that the leading cause of climate crisis is fossil fuels,”

Tuvalu’s prime minister, Kausea Natano, told fellow leaders at the Cop27 summit in Egypt.

Mr Natano said that his country has “joined Vanuatu and other nations calling for a fossil fuels nonproliferation treaty... it’s getting too hot and there is very [little] time to slow and reverse the increasing temperature. Therefore, it is essential to prioritise fast-acting strategies that avoids the most warming”.

The idea of a non-proliferation treaty for coal, oil and natural gas has been advanced by churches, including the Vatican, and some scientists, but Mr Natano’s speech gave it a bigger boost in front of a global audience.

A year ago at Cop26 in Glasgow, a proposal to call for a “phase out” of coal – the dirtiest of the fossil fuels – was changed at the last minute to “phase down” after a demand from India, earning the wrath of small island nations and some vulnerable countries. “While they are profiting the planet is burning,” said Gaston Browne, prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda.