Will it take a treaty to phase out fossil fuels? – DW – 06/03/2025
As some countries roll back climate commitments, the head of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Kumi Naidoo is calling for a phase-out of coal, oil and gas production.
Environmental justice leader Kumi Naidoo is urging the international community to support what is known as the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative . Speaking in a recent interview with DW, Naidoo, who is president of the initiative and former head of Greenpeace International, says the treaty is key to getting countries to phase out the burning of oil, coal and gas.
Naidoo notes that while the Paris Agreement is symbolically important, it is not legally binding and has suffered from widespread non-compliance. He highlights the 28 years it took for the words "fossil fuel" to get a mention in official documents emerging from the UN's annual climate conferences.
The problem with burning fossil fuels
For more than a century, coal, oil and gas have served as the backbone of the global economy, powering transport and industry, heating homes, providing electricity and serving as the raw material for plastics that have become ubiquitous in our daily lives.
But the greenhouse gases released when fossil fuels are burned are making the world hotter and leading to increasing extreme weather events. Scientists say governments urgently need to phase outthese planet-heating energy sources and transition to cleaner alternatives.
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Serbia: Protesters demand early vote with ultimatum to Vucic – DW – 06/28/2025
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Protests in Kenya: Press freedom under fire – DW – 06/28/2025
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