Following pressure and widespread condemnation from civil society, 77 world leaders, and Nobel laureates, the UN Pact for the Future now commits to "transition away from fossil fuels" in its latest draft. A big win for us and our planet! To give you a bit of context: earlier in August, negotiations between countries on the Pact for the Future, which is to be adopted at the upcoming Summit for the Future, had resulted in the removal of any reference to fossil fuels from the first and second revisions of the draft text—a major setback for climate negotiations!
But that was without taking into account the intervention of civil society. In an open letter signed by 77 world leaders and Nobel laureates, they expressed their grave concerns that earlier drafts of the Pact did not even mention “fossil fuels,” despite the significant risk they pose to our future. “The extraction and burning of fossil fuels undermine all 17 Sustainable Development Goals, including jeopardizing public health, fueling conflict, exacerbating social inequalities, and threatening biodiverse ecosystems worldwide,” they said. Their message for governments was clear: "For the Summit for the Future to be worthy of its name, it must address the threat of fossil fuels."
And we did it! The third revision of the UN Pact for the Future addresses fossil fuels by explicitly stating that Heads of States “decide to (…) transition away from fossil fuels”.
Now, let's continue the fight to keep this reference in the final version of the Pact! Let's keep putting pressure on governments to demand concrete plans and actions to make these commitments a reality.
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This is a significant victory! Including the commitment to transition away from fossil fuels in the UN Pact for the Future is crucial for meaningful climate action. We must keep the pressure on to ensure these commitments turn into real, impactful measures.
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The world should run on clean and sustainable energy.
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this is a great way of pushing countries to inherent more environmentally friendly practices
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We all should strive towards protecting the planet by all means possible for a better future free from pollution.
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this transition away from fossil fuels is not only about protecting the planet it's a pathway to a more sustainable and just future, creating opportunities for innovation, equity, and resilience across all sectors of society.