"Sinking Pacific island nation issues historic call for treaty to phase out fossil fuels", 8 November 2022

The South Pacific island nation of Tuvalu on Tuesday urged countries at the COP27 climate summit to establish a global treaty to phase out the use of fossil fuels. The low-lying country, which faces an existential threat from rising sea levels, is the first to make such a call at the U.N.’s flagship climate conference...

Tuvalu follows in the footsteps of its Pacific neighbors in making the call for a fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty. Vanuatu called for the establishment of such a mechanism at the U.N. General Assembly in September. Only a handful of small countries have endorsed the initiative to date, however, and the fossil fuel industry has typically sought to underline the importance of energy security in the transition to renewables.

The statement Tuesday comes at a time of growing momentum for calls to end fossil fuel production worldwide. The European Parliament, the Vatican and the World Health Organization have all backed the proposal in recent months. Oil and gas giants, meanwhile, have reported record profits at a time of high energy costs and a cost-of-living crisis.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday called for all governments to tax the “windfall profits” of fossil fuel companies and redirect the money to people struggling with rising food and energy costs and to countries suffering loss and damage caused by the climate crisis...