
By Robert A. Emmanuel
Prime Minister Gaston Browne pledged Antigua and Barbuda’s endorsement of a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty would be “more than words” as the country joined seven nations in calling for a global transition to cleaner energy.
The proposal for the treaty is being spearheaded by the Pacific island nations of Vanuatu and Tuvalu and is said to “complement the Paris Agreement by accelerating an equitable shift away from fossil fuels to affordable, abundant clean energy for all”.
Speaking at the Global Citizen Festival – an annual music event aimed at fighting poverty – in New York last week, the Prime Minister said he was proud to supporting the initiative.
“It is a binding plan to end the fossil fuel era, a pledge to a rapid shift to clean energy, a commitment where economies transcend their fossil fuel past and an assurance that no community is left behind.
“With this endorsement, we send a clear message: unity in purpose, unity in action,” Browne said.
Antigua and Barbuda, alongside other small island states, have raised the issue of climate action on the international stage.
Antigua and Barbuda and Tuvalu were the founding members of the Commission for Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law (COSIS) and recently brought a case before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) – the UN maritime court – for an advisory opinion on the obligation of states to protect the marine environment.
“The climate crisis is the most existential threat facing all humanity. It doesn’t distinguish between European forests and Caribbean waters. Some carry the burden more than others, as in the case of small island developing states,” the Prime Minister stated.
Timor-Leste (East Timor) also joined the initiative, becoming the first fossil fuel-producing nation to support the plan.
According to the initiative’s website, Permanent Representative of Vanuatu to the United Nations Ambassador Odo Tevi and Minister of Finance and Economic Development of Tuvalu Seve Paeniu thanked Antigua and Barbuda and Timor-Leste for their support.
“I am pleased to welcome Antigua and Barbuda and Timor-Leste to the team as we forge a path together towards a new Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty.
“Fossil fuels are responsible for 86 percent of the carbon dioxide emissions that are causing the hottest average temperatures we’ve ever seen.
“Climate adaptation is essential, but without addressing fossil fuel production, it’s like trying to mop up water from an overflowing sink without turning off the tap,” Minister Paeniu explained.
The proposal is supported by the World Health Organization, the European Parliament, more than 600 parliamentarians from 83 countries, 2,100 civil society organisations, and 3,000 scientists and academics.
The pillars of this proposal include: an end to the expansion of coal, oil and gas production; an equitable plan for the wind-down of existing fossil fuel production; and fast-tracking the adoption of clean energy and economic diversification away from fossil fuels so that no worker, community or country is left behind.