The Conservation World Just Put Fossil Fuels on Notice 🌍💥
For years, the climate conversation has been dominated by demand—how we use energy. But what about the supply? What about the companies digging up the coal, oil, and gas in the first place?
Well, the world’s most powerful conservation body just made a historic move, essentially declaring that you can't save nature while simultaneously fueling its destruction.
At the recent World Conservation Congress, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)—the largest and most authoritative global conservation network—passed a landmark motion that is shaking the foundation of climate governance. It's the strongest signal yet that the global community is finally ready to tackle the root cause of the crisis.
Why Motion 042 is a Game-Changer
This isn't just another committee meeting; it’s a multilateral body—with governments, civil society, and scientists as members—approving language that is unprecedented:
Fossil Fuel Production is a Threat to Nature: Motion 042 is the first of its kind in the entire multilateral system to explicitly call out fossil fuel production as a direct threat to nature. This shifts the focus from just using dirty energy to actively extracting it.
Supply-Side Measures: The motion calls on governments to use "supply-side measures." That means stopping new exploration and extraction and figuring out how to phase out existing production. It’s saying: stop pouring fuel on the fire.
The Treaty is Named: Critically, the motion encourages states to explore a variety of instruments, explicitly naming a potential Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty as a tool to achieve this phase-out and ensure a just transition.
As Harjeet Singh of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative put it: “The IUCN has finally named a root cause of the climate and biodiversity crises: fossil fuels.”
The Human Reality: Conservation is Climate Justice
This historic vote isn't abstract—it's driven by the people on the front lines of the climate emergency.
The statement that followed the vote was filled with powerful, human voices, emphasizing that conservation and climate justice are two sides of the same coin:
From the Pacific: "For the first time, the IUCN has recognised what science has been telling us for decades: we cannot protect nature while expanding fossil fuels," said Hon. Ralph Regenvanu, Minister of Climate Change of Vanuatu. "The Pacific has long been calling for a just and equitable phase out... because our survival depends on it."
From Indigenous Leaders: Fany Kuiru Castro, of the Coordinadora de la Organizaciones Indígenas de la Cuenca Amazónica (COICA), was even more direct: "For Indigenous Peoples, this vote is a recognition of our lived reality: you cannot protect nature while expanding fossil fuels... There is no conservation without Indigenous rights, and there is no climate justice without a full and fair phase-out of fossil fuels."
Oil and gas extraction has always devastated territories and violated rights. Now, the world's top conservation network is standing on the side of life, linking the fate of the planet's ecosystems directly to the need for a global fossil fuel exit strategy.
Momentum is Building for COP30
This decision couldn't have come at a better time. The new motion—alongside the recent International Court of Justice (ICJ) advisory opinion affirming states’ obligations to prevent climate harm—is adding immense pressure on governments.
With the crucial COP30 climate negotiations rapidly approaching in Belém, Brazil, the bar for action has been raised. Governments can no longer claim they are protecting nature while quietly expanding fossil fuel drilling behind closed doors.
This IUCN vote is a massive step. It validates the need for a comprehensive, global plan—like the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty—to manage the end of the fossil fuel era in a way that is fast, fair, and funded. It's time for governments to stop playing politics and finally put conservation, and people, first.
The shift is happening. Will your government be on the right side of history?
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