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Ending fossil fuel subsidies presents a massive opportunity to shift billions to pay for energy efficiency, renewable energy, and climate finance, as well as to social protection measures that can mitigate any harmful impacts on households. If the Netherlands takes action now, it has an opportunity to bring other countries along at COP28, the upcoming UN climate conference in Dubai.
"The only logical course of action is for governments to arrive at the negotiations prepared to take action commensurate with what the science is telling us: agree to a managed, planned decline of fossil fuel production to avoid the worst impacts of the existential climate crisis."
The Pope described delaying action on fossil fuels as “suicidal” as humanity faces the increasingly severe consequences of the climate crisis.
"Sacrificing millions of acres in the Gulf of Mexico for oil and gas extraction is a gross denial of reality by Joe Biden in the face of climate catastrophe," said Collin Rees.
“The science could not be more clear: there is no room for a single drop of oil from new fields. In our recent report “Planet Wreckers” we showed how the UK is one of the five rich Global North countries responsible for 51% of planned new oil and gas extraction globally to 2050, and blatantly ignoring the calls to rapidly phase out fossil fuels. The fact that the UK Government has approved the biggest undeveloped field in the UK, and coming just one week after the Government’s weakening of its net zero policies, is proof positive it is siding with oil and gas giants over a liveable future for all.”
The International Energy Agency’s 2023 Net Zero Roadmap report reaffirms that world leaders must not develop new oil, gas, or coal beyond existing fields – and some existing fields and infrastructure will need to be closed early – to remain within the internationally agreed upon temperature limit.
A handful of rich countries driving oil and gas expansion failed to answer United Nations Secretary General António Guterres’s call for an end to new fossil fuel production. Lacking the climate leadership necessary to participate, the United States, the United Kingdom, Norway, and Australia were excluded from speaking at the Climate Ambition Summit today.
Today the outgoing Dutch Minister for Climate and Energy Policy, Rob Jetten, published an analysis of the Netherlands’ fossil fuel subsidies, estimating these at between €39.7 and €46.4 billion a year, more than 4% of the Netherlands’ GDP.
In an unprecedented display of unity, a diverse global coalition of activists, impacted peoples, lawmakers, celebrities, and concerned communities came together from September 15-17 to demand an end to fossil fuels. This historic event, endorsed by over 3,800 organizations around the globe and joined by prominent actors, activists, and climate leaders, marks a pivotal moment in the global effort to combat climate change.
