Why we need a global treaty to phase out fossil fuels and protect lives

A coalition of over 1,000 health professionals and 200 organizations, including the WHO, is calling for a legally binding global plan to phase out fossil fuels. The group highlights that major economies are increasing support for coal, oil, and gas, which undermines climate goals and causes severe health issues, including air pollution and occupational diseases. They propose a fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty based on three pillars: stopping new production, winding down existing use, and ensuring a just transition for affected workers and communities, with high-income countries providing necessary support to developing nations.

• A coalition of more than 1,000 health professionals and nearly 200 health organizations, including the World Health Organization, the International Pediatric Association, the World Medical Association, the Alliance of Nurses for a Healthy Environment, and the World Federation of Public Health Associations, are demanding a legally binding global plan to phase out fossil fuel use.
• Analysis from the OECD and the International Energy Agency shows that major economies are significantly increasing support for the production and consumption of coal, oil, and natural gas, with such support nearly doubling in 2021.
• The proposed fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty consists of three primary components: an immediate halt to new fossil fuel production and infrastructure, a fair and coordinated wind-down of existing production and use, and the provision of a just transition for impacted workers and communities.
• Fossil fuel use is linked to specific health crises, including black lung disease in coal miners, contaminated drinking water from fracking, damage to fisheries from oil spills, and millions of annual deaths caused by air pollution.
• High-income countries are identified as having the moral responsibility and resources to lead the clean energy transition and assist developing countries in doing the same to eliminate poverty.

APA

Walsh, D. (2022). Why we need a global treaty to phase out fossil fuels and protect lives. Global Climate and Health Alliance. https://climateandhealthalliance.org/blog/why-we-need-a-global-treaty-to-phase-out-fossil-fuels-and-protect-lives/

Chicago

Walsh, Dave. Why we need a global treaty to phase out fossil fuels and protect lives. Global Climate and Health Alliance, 2022. https://climateandhealthalliance.org/blog/why-we-need-a-global-treaty-to-phase-out-fossil-fuels-and-protect-lives/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Walsh |first1=Dave |title=Why we need a global treaty to phase out fossil fuels and protect lives |publisher=Global Climate and Health Alliance |date=14 September 2022 |url=https://climateandhealthalliance.org/blog/why-we-need-a-global-treaty-to-phase-out-fossil-fuels-and-protect-lives/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{walsh2022why, author = {Walsh, Dave}, title = {{Why we need a global treaty to phase out fossil fuels and protect lives}}, publisher = {Global Climate and Health Alliance}, year = {2022}, month = sep, url = {https://climateandhealthalliance.org/blog/why-we-need-a-global-treaty-to-phase-out-fossil-fuels-and-protect-lives/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }