A098 Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation
The Episcopal Church has consistently, through past General Convention resolutions, stayed abreast, even taken leadership positions, with respect to advocacy in climate change and environment. The Episcopal Church, in keeping with our following a living Christ, rather than calling to mind a Jesus who visited us once in the past, is a learning, evolving body. Thus, as the latest climate change science and the results of the 2023 Global Stock take have demonstrated, it is no longer sufficient to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, we must phase out the use of fossil fuels.
The call to phase out fossil fuels originated in 2023 with seven Pacific island nations, nations who are already experiencing the leading edge of climate change. The call took the form of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty. The Executive Council of the Episcopal Church passed a resolution in November of 2023 that endorsed the aims of the treaty, allowing the Presiding Bishop’s delegation to COP 28 [Conference of the Parties (COP)] to use the treaty in its policy platform.
By way of background, the meeting purpose of COP is authorized through the framework of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The United Nations Climate Change Conferences serve as the formal meeting of the UNFCCC parties – the Conference of the Parties (COP) – to assess progress in dealing with climate change, and beginning in the mid-1990s, to negotiate the Kyoto Protocol to establish legally binding obligations for developed countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. These annual meetings serve to further negotiations and obligations of the various treaties and protocols which create a general path towards climate action. Any final text of a COP must be agreed by consensus. (1)
The embrace of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty and its core goal - the phase out of fossil fuels - by the 81st General Convention will provide an even stronger basis for our Church’s advocacy around this essential goal.
(1) Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Climate_Change_conference
Explanation
The Episcopal Church has consistently, through past General Convention resolutions, stayed abreast, even taken leadership positions, with respect to advocacy in climate change and environment. The Episcopal Church, in keeping with our following a living Christ, rather than calling to mind a Jesus who visited us once in the past, is a learning, evolving body. Thus, as the latest climate change science and the results of the 2023 Global Stock take have demonstrated, it is no longer sufficient to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, we must phase out the use of fossil fuels.
The call to phase out fossil fuels originated in 2023 with seven Pacific island nations, nations who are already experiencing the leading edge of climate change. The call took the form of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty. The Executive Council of the Episcopal Church passed a resolution in November of 2023 that endorsed the aims of the treaty, allowing the Presiding Bishop’s delegation to COP 28 [Conference of the Parties (COP)] to use the treaty in its policy platform.
By way of background, the meeting purpose of COP is authorized through the framework of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The United Nations Climate Change Conferences serve as the formal meeting of the UNFCCC parties – the Conference of the Parties (COP) – to assess progress in dealing with climate change, and beginning in the mid-1990s, to negotiate the Kyoto Protocol to establish legally binding obligations for developed countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. These annual meetings serve to further negotiations and obligations of the various treaties and protocols which create a general path towards climate action. Any final text of a COP must be agreed by consensus. (1)
The embrace of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty and its core goal - the phase out of fossil fuels - by the 81st General Convention will provide an even stronger basis for our Church’s advocacy around this essential goal.
(1) Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Climate_Change_conference