WILPF International and the Fossil Fuel Non-proliferation Treaty recently published their report Stop Fossil Fuels from Fuelling Conflict: Why the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty is an essential climate tool for peace which we have sent to members of government along with the below cover letter explaining the necessity for the phase out of fossil fuels. Please do share with your local MP, councillors or press to help share our message. You can also catch up on the webinar launch of the report.
Dear Secretary of State
Stop Fossil Fuels from Fuelling Conflict: Why the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty is an essential climate tool for peace
The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) has over 100 years’ experience seeking out the root causes of war and conflict, working through WILPF’s consultative status at the United Nations, and using negotiation and conciliation to bring an end to conflict.
I am enclosing a copy of a recent report produced by WILPF in collaboration with the Fossil Fuel Treaty Organisation to bring to your attention the role which fossil fuels have played in shaping, exacerbating, sustaining or prolonging inter-state conflicts and violence across the world unlike any other commodity. Phasing out fossil fuels is essential for a peaceful and climate-just world and the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty can play a critical role on this path – by acting as a climate tool for peace.
Momentum is building behind the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty proposal, now spearheaded by a growing bloc of 14 nation-states – Vanuatu, Tuvalu, Tonga, Fiji, the Solomon Islands, Niue, Antigua and Barbuda, Timor-Leste, Palau, Colombia, Samoa, Nauru, the Marshall Islands, and the Federated States of Micronesia – who joined forces at SIDS4 and called on other governments to join them in seeking a negotiating mandate for a new treaty on fossil fuels. They have been supported by the World Health Organization, the European Parliament and thousands of others.
A grouping of “champion” countries – from those most affected by the climate crisis to those that understand the conflict and security implications of continued fossil fuel use and expansion – can drive significant change by creating new international legal standards and shifting norms.
The attached report sets out the ways in which fossil fuels affect inter-state wars; the dependence of military systems on fossil fuels, which exacerbates the climate crisis; the links between fossil fuels and colonial legacies, separatist movements, organised crime and human rights violations and the interrelationship between fossil fuels and the climate crisis. It explains the aims of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty and sets out General Recommendations and Proposed Actions for Governments.
I hope that you and your teams will take the time to read the report and in particular take the proposed actions into account in your Government’s forthcoming programmes. At a time when so many countries are affected by inter-state and internal conflict, as well as increasing numbers of climate catastrophes, such action is vital.
Britain once again has a key role to play in the international arena as a leader on Climate Change and Peace, particularly at the UN General Assembly first Committee on International Peace and Security and the UN Security Council. You can also use the platforms of wider UN and multilateral processes, in particular at COP29 – described as the “COP of Peace” to present these critical links and promote the FFNPT as a mechanism for a sustainable peace.
We look forward to hearing your response
https://fossilfueltreaty.org/research for electronic copy and other information on the FFNPT.
Sent to:
- Rt Hon David Lammy MP, Secretary of State for Foreign Commonwealth and Development Affairs
- Rt Hon John Healy MP, S of S for Defence
- Rt Hon Ed Miliband MP, S of S for Energy Security and Net Zero
- Rt Hon Steve Reed MP, S of S for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
- Rt Hon Anneliese Dodds, Minister of State for Development, Women and Equalities
- Lord Hunt of Kings’ Heath, Minister of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
- Bill Esterson MP, Chair of the Select Committee on Energy Security and Net Zero
- Tamanjeet Singh Dhesi MP, Chair of the SC on Defence
- Emily Thornberry MP, Chair of the SC on Foreign Affairs
- Sarah Champion MP, Chair of the SC on International Development
- Ed Davey MP, Leader Liberal Democrats
- Carla Denya MP and Adrian Ramsay MP, Leaders Greens
- Stephen Flynn MP, Leader (in the HofC), SNP
- Liz Saville Roberts, Leader, Plaid Cymru
- Graeme Downie MP