Two different jurisdictions took solid steps toward a fossil fuel phaseout last week, with Colombia joining the international Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance (BOGA) and California joining the call for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Colombia announced August 31 that it’s signing on as a “friend” of BOGA, a global pledge launched at the 2021 UN climate summit in which participating countries commit to reduce their oil and gas production in line with keeping average global warming below 1.5°C.
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“Starting today, we will focus our efforts on collaborating with BOGA to work together to advance our transition, not only energy, but also economically,” said Mines and Energy Minister Andrés Camacho Morales. “The work with BOGA will respond to the element of justice of our energy transition, both for communities and for industry.”
A day later, the state assembly in California, which has begun styling itself the world’s fourth-biggest economy, endorsed the non-proliferation treaty with a resolution that was heavily opposed by oil and gas lobbyists and 40 industry groups, the FFNPT secretariat writes.
“It is essential that we commit once and for all to ending our reliance on fossil fuels,” said the resolution’s sponsor, Senate Majority Whip Lena Gonzalez (D-Long Beach). “People around the world, especially low-income people of colour, are suffering the adverse health impacts of fossil fuel pollution, from asthma to cancer. The recent devastating fires and hurricanes emphasize the urgency of taking action to prevent further extreme weather changes.”
“This decision of the State of California is a commitment to take down the single biggest contributor to the climate crisis: the fossil fuel industry,” said Tom Goldtooth, executive director of the Indigenous Environmental Network. “As the state with the highest population of Indigenous peoples in the country, it is important to pass legislation that would put a halt to the devastation and destruction of the compounding effects of climate change caused by fossil fuels.”
