Faith leaders have called on the UK government to step up international efforts to encourage the phasing out of fossil fuels. <\/p>\n
Catriona Wheeler, United Reformed Church General Assembly Moderator, joined senior representatives of the Methodist Church, the Baptist Union in Great Britain in co-signing a letter asking Ed Miliband, as Secretary of State for Energy and Net Zero,\u00a0to personally attend the\u00a0First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels<\/a>, taking place 24-29 April.<\/p>\n The international summit is being co-hosted by Colombia and the Netherlands in Santa Marta, Colombia. This letter argues that the presence of the Secretary of State would convey a clear message of support from the UK for this new\u00a0multilateral movement, and aid vital work to agree a detailed roadmap for a\u00a0transition away from fossil fuels\u00a0that is fast, fair, and funded.<\/p>\n The UK has a proud history of international climate leadership, with\u00a0Ed Miliband himself having observed last autumn<\/a> that \u201cWe are up against the march of time and massive global forces that would slow down or stop action. In the face of this opposition, multilateralism is our best hope\u201d. The faith leaders say that \u201cYour words encouraged us [\u2026and] \u200bwe \u200bencourage you to put them into action\u200b with fellow climate leaders\u200b in Santa Marta\u200b\u201d.<\/p>\n In an appendix to the letter, the leaders explain their shared motivation in issuing the call, saying: \u201cTo be good \u200b\u200bcarers \u200bof our common home, we must act quickly and phase out the production of fossil fuels\u2026 It is \u200ba \u200bmoral imperative to protect those most in need and to uphold the\u200b rights of future generations\u200b \u200b\u200b\u200band the whole earth\u200b\u200b\u200b \u200b\u200b\u200b\u200bby employing renewable sources of energy.\u201d<\/p>\n Revd Canon Giles Goddard, Chair of Faith for the Climate and signatory of the letter, said: \u201cIt\u2019s really important that the UK continues its record of climate leadership by working with climate allies. In the face of a fossil fuel crisis, this conference is vital to accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels, and ensure that it is fast, fair and funded.<\/p>\n \u201cEd Miliband\u2019s attendance would show the UK is serious about climate justice and wants to work together, especially with the countries most impacted by the climate crisis. As Ed said himself, \u2018You can\u2019t solve a fossil fuel crisis by doubling down on fossil fuels\u2019<\/a>\u00a0Santa Marta is a key opportunity to bring on \u2018the era of clean energy security\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n This conference has the support of many fellow climate leaders, such as the nations who signed the Belem Declaration on the Just Transition Away from Fossil Fuels,\u00a0a statement made at the conclusion of COP30<\/a>\u00a0on the next steps in the fight for climate justice.\u00a0This includes<\/a> small island states especially at risk from climate change, such as Fiji and Jamaica, as well as close European allies of the UK, such as Spain and Austria. It also includes the co-host of COP31, Australia. These countries have welcomed the Santa Marta Conference as a platform to advance the dialogues to accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels after COP30.<\/a>\u00a0Several nations attending are major fossil fuel producers, including Colombia itself, as well as\u00a0Canada, Brazil and Norway.<\/a><\/p>\n The initiative follows on from\u00a0JPIT\u2019s previous work in support of a Fossil Fuel Treaty<\/a>, and would represent an important step in furthering international discussions on climate change. The UNFCCC COP talks have struggled to maintain a focus on the phase-out of fossil fuels, despite it being referred to\u00a0in the outcomes of COP28<\/a>. This conference, independently organised by like-minded countries with high climate ambitions from Global South and North, would help to keep fossil fuel phase-out on the agenda as we look towards COP31 later this year.<\/p>\n