STOP FOSSIL FUELS FROM FUELLING CONFLICT

The report examines how fossil fuels correlate with inter-state wars, militarism, and internal violence, while advocating for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty to manage a just transition to renewable energy. It highlights the 'peacetime-wartime continuum' of violence, noting that fossil fuel revenues often fund conflicts and that extraction sites frequently experience human rights abuses and gender-based violence. The document calls for a treaty based on non-proliferation, a fair phase-out, and a global just transition to prevent the replication of colonial extractivist patterns in the renewable energy sector.

• Fossil fuels are strongly correlated with inter-state conflict, with an estimated 25% to 50% of all interstate wars since 1973 linked to oil.
• Militaries are major fossil fuel consumers and significant emitters, contributing at least 5.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions, yet they are exempt from reporting obligations under the Paris Agreement.
• The 'threat multiplier' framework used by Global North governments to describe the climate crisis often justifies militarised responses, which the report argues prevents structural transformation for climate justice.
• Fossil fuel extraction is linked to internal instability; oil-producing countries in the Global South are twice as likely to experience internal rebellion as non-producing countries.
• The 'debt-fossil fuel production trap' occurs when countries rely on fossil fuel revenues to repay debts, often leading to further indebtedness and environmental harm without benefiting the general population.
• Fossil fuel extraction reinforces patriarchal norms and gender inequalities, contributing to increased domestic violence, sex trafficking around 'Man Camps', and specific health risks like miscarriage due to gas flaring.
• The report identifies a 'peacetime-wartime continuum' where structural violence, such as forced evictions and the militarisation of extraction sites, exists independently of formal war.
• The proposed Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty is based on three pillars: Global Just Transition, Non-Proliferation (ending new exploration), and Fair Phase-out (aligned with the 1.5°C goal).
• A transition to renewable energy has 'peace potential' because renewables are more geographically distributed and harder to monopolise, but this depends on avoiding 'green colonialism' and the exploitative mining of critical minerals.

APA

Geyer, K. (2024). STOP FOSSIL FUELS FROM FUELLING CONFLICT. Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative. https://www.fossilfueltreaty.org/s/Stop-Fossil-Fuels-from-Fuelling-Conflict-Why-a-Fossil-Fuel-Non-Proliferation-Treaty-is-an-Essential.pdf

Chicago

Geyer, Katrin. STOP FOSSIL FUELS FROM FUELLING CONFLICT. Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative, 2024. https://www.fossilfueltreaty.org/s/Stop-Fossil-Fuels-from-Fuelling-Conflict-Why-a-Fossil-Fuel-Non-Proliferation-Treaty-is-an-Essential.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Geyer |first1=Katrin |title=STOP FOSSIL FUELS FROM FUELLING CONFLICT |publisher=Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative |date=September 2024 |url=https://www.fossilfueltreaty.org/s/Stop-Fossil-Fuels-from-Fuelling-Conflict-Why-a-Fossil-Fuel-Non-Proliferation-Treaty-is-an-Essential.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{geyer2024stop, author = {Geyer, Katrin}, title = {{STOP FOSSIL FUELS FROM FUELLING CONFLICT}}, institution = {Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative}, year = {2024}, month = sep, url = {https://www.fossilfueltreaty.org/s/Stop-Fossil-Fuels-from-Fuelling-Conflict-Why-a-Fossil-Fuel-Non-Proliferation-Treaty-is-an-Essential.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }