Page 1612 - Week 06 - Wednesday, 2 June 2021
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(2) notes that:
(a) the unfortunately weak Paris Climate Agreement is silent on coal, oil and gas, an omission with respect to the supply and production of fossil fuels (the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions) that needs to be collectively addressed by other means;
(b) global governments and the fossil fuel industry are currently planning to produce about 120 percent more emissions by 2030 than what is needed to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius and avert catastrophic climate disruption, and such plans risk undoing the work of our city to reduce greenhouse gas emissions;
(c) the fossil fuel industry is currently claiming over 50 percent of COVID-19 recovery funding from senior levels of government in the G20, thereby siphoning away recovery funding badly needed by cities and other industries;
(d) the construction of new fossil fuel infrastructure and expanded reliance on fossil fuels exposes communities to untenable risks to public health and safety at the local and global levels;
(e) the economic opportunities presented by a clean energy transition far outweigh the opportunities presented by an economy supported by expanding fossil fuel use and extraction; and
(f) the ACT Government is committed to working closely with the community, ensuring a just transition for those impacted by evolving industries and employment, and growing green industries and jobs;
(3) further notes that:
(a) a new, global movement is emerging, calling for a new Fossil Fuel Non-proliferation Treaty that uses, as a guide, the three pillars of the existing nuclear non-proliferation treaty to:
(i) end new fossil fuel exploration and expansion (non-proliferation);
(ii) manage the phasing out of existing production (disarmament); and
(iii) develop equitable transition plans (peaceful use); and
(b) Barcelona in Spain, Vancouver in Canada, Los Angeles in the United States, the City of Moreland in Victoria and two municipalities in the United Kingdom have endorsed this call for an international treaty action so far; and
(4) calls on the ACT Government to:
(a) join with other cities, organisations, and individuals, to endorse the call for an international Treaty on Fossil Fuel Non-proliferation; and
(b) send a letter to urge the Australian Government, and other States and Territories, to similarly endorse the global initiative for a Fossil Fuel Non-proliferation Treaty.
I seek the support of this Assembly for a proposed international treaty to stop the proliferation of fossil fuel. This is part of a global movement calling on governments for a treaty and is modelled on the successful anti-nuclear weapons movement. I want to spend a minute talking about that nuclear non-proliferation treaty, because it gives
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