A YEAR OF INSPIRING PROGRESS TOWARD A FOSSIL FUEL TREATY

Dear Friend, 

As we enter 2026, I reflect on what we accomplished together so far. 

2025 was a year shaped by movement-building, solidarity and hope. While not an easy time, our collective impact cannot be denied.

18 nations are now participating in diplomatic dialogues regarding the legal and financial pathways for a just transition via a Fossil Fuel Treaty. 

Colombia and The Netherlands will co-host the First International Conference for the Just Transition Away from Fossil Fuels. This historic event will take place in April in Santa Marta, Colombia - a site chosen because of its location in the heart of coal extraction.

The International Court of Justice, compelled by Vanuatu and Tuvalu, issued its first Advisory Opinion on climate change. It placed oil, gas and coal firmly at the root of the climate crisis. It sets a precedent that fossil fuel licensing, subsidies and extraction could be deemed illegal. 

After fossil fuels being ignored in climate negotiations for decades, these are welcome developments. It is also a reminder of the frontline, grassroots community, global movement dedication and organizing that helped spur these actions into existence.  

Now the work continues. As we enter 2026, the need to address the interconnected, destructive nature of our political, economic and military systems is ever more apparent. Moving away from fossil fuels is not just about climate change. It is about peace and security, the ability to seek healthy and meaningful lives and livelihoods. Human rights. Indigenous rights. The rights of our children and future generations to exist. To thrive. 

If you are feeling anxious about the state of the world, you are not alone.  This anxiety is a sign our humanity is intact. That we are reacting naturally to an irrational world. 

We must feel deeply, however staying in despair is not a luxury we or the world can afford. Now is the time to turn our angst into passion, energy, voice. To further knit our collective, global efforts into a constant drumbeat that refuses to be ignored. To stand together and overcome injustices. To put care over cruelty and courage over comfort.

My hope for 2026 is that it is a year full of solidarity, imagination, and brave action towards a resilient, people-powered movement of change. Join us in Santa Marta. Spread the word about a just transition via a Fossil Fuel Treaty online. Start a local campaign calling on your city or town to endorse the Fossil Fuel Treaty proposal. There are many ways to participate and contribute to the momentum for a fast, fair and fully funded move away from fossil fuels. 

KUMI NAIDOO

President of the Fossil Fuel Treaty Initiative

18 NATION STATES!

The Fossil Fuel Treaty Initiative is gaining rapid momentum globally. 18 nation-states are now participating in the process to develop a Fossil Fuel Treaty. They all agree that a binding legal framework is necessary to accelerate a just and equitable global transition for the phase out of oil, gas and coal, and to help achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement.

Learn more

FIRST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE FOR THE JUST TRANSITION AWAY FROM FOSSIL FUELS WAS ANNOUNCED

The governments of Colombia and the Netherlands announced they will co-host the First International Conference for the Just Transition Away from Fossil Fuels, to be held in Santa Marta in April 2026. The landmark convening will advance international cooperation on legal, economic, and social pathways for a fair and equitable transition, reinforcing the goals of the Paris Agreement and responding to the growing urgency to move beyond coal, oil, and gas. In the Final COP30 Plenary, the COP Presidency supported the announcement of the Conference.

Learn more

MORE THAN ONE MILLION GLOBAL SUPPORTERS HAVE JOINED THE CALL FOR A FOSSIL FUEL TREATY

One million voices. One force. One future — fossil-free. And we’re just getting started. From every corner of the world, people are calling for a Fossil Fuel Treaty.

Join the growing coalition pledging to keep 1.5° alive by endorsing the proposal for a Fossil Fuel Treaty today.

Endorse the Fossil Fuel Treaty Initiative

50 ORGANIZATIONS DEMANDED A FOSSIL-FREE AMAZON

At the OTCA (“Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization” in English) Presidents’ Summit in Bogotá, the Fossil Fuel Treaty and the Assembly for a Fossil Fuel Free Amazon held dialogues with authorities, Indigenous decision makers, and civil society to demand an end to dependence on oil, gas, and coal. The central objective is for the Bogotá Declaration to establish the Amazon as the world’s first fossil fuel exclusion zone for the extraction of fossil fuels.

Learn more

MAASAI COMMUNITY BECAME FIRST INDIGENOUS PEOPLE IN AFRICA TO BACK THE CALL FOR A TREATY

In a historic move, a section of the Indigenous Maasai community from Endonyio Sidai in Kajiado County, Kenya expressed its support of the proposal for a Fossil Fuel Treaty, making them the first Indigenous People in Africa to do so, joining 11 Amazonian nations from Peru and Ecuador. The engagement underscored the need to centre Indigenous voices in shaping the solutions to this global crisis that disproportionately affects their communities. They’re standing for a future free from fossil fuels — rooted in protecting land, nature, and future generations.

Learn more

IN THE MEDIA

“"We can't discard it entirely," Harjeet Singh, an activist with the Fossil Fuel Treaty Initiative, told BBC News. "But it requires retrofitting. We will need processes outside this system to help complement what we have done so far."

““‘No one country, let alone one man, can stop the global energy transition,’ said Tzeporah Berman, a Canadian climate activist who is chairwoman of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative. ‘Trump is desperately trying to hold onto the past even though the reality of our heavy dependence on fossil fuels is etched into the scorched landscape of Los Angeles. What he did yesterday will cost lives and hold Americans and the world back from protecting what we love.’”

“Kumi Naidoo, chair of the campaign for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, stated: ‘We are at a critical moment in human history. And the alarming reality is that the world's largest fossil fuel companies are not only increasing their emissions but doing so in a context of climate phenomena that are having devastating effects on people's daily lives.’”

SOCIALS WORTH SHARING

The climate emergency is not up for debate

Amiera Sawas, Head of Research of the  Fossil Fuel Treaty Initiative, shut down a climate emergency denialist on TRT World using science and lived experience.

Watch and share on Instagram!

We must embrace intersectionality across movements

Future wars aren’t going to be about oil, but about water. We must make the connection among struggles in order to tackle this polycrisis.

Watch and share on Instagram!

Help sustain this growing global momentum by making a donation to advance the Fossil Fuel Treaty Initiative’s work toward a fast, fair and financed transition from oil, gas and coal extraction.

Thank you for helping us take the Fossil Fuel Treaty initiative to the next level in 2026!