Global South Catholic Bishops call for treaty to accelerate just energy transition

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🗞️ Driving the news: Catholic bishops from Africa, Asia and Latin America have issued a joint manifesto calling for a global treaty to end fossil fuel expansion and accelerate a just transition to renewable energy

🔭 The context: The “Manifesto of the Churches of the Global South for our Common Home” frames climate change as both an environmental and systemic crisis tied to unsustainable economic models
• Backed by Church leaders across multiple continents, the proposal advocates for a Fossil Fuel Treaty to complement the Paris Agreement by directly targeting fossil fuel production, including ending new exploration and phasing out existing operations

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: The manifesto highlights fossil fuels as the primary driver of global warming, urging rapid phase-out to avoid escalating climate impacts
• It also stresses that delaying action risks locking in emissions, worsening environmental degradation and intensifying climate-related disasters, particularly in vulnerable regions of the Global South

⏭️ What’s next: The bishops are calling on governments to integrate fossil fuel phase-out strategies into national climate plans ahead of upcoming global climate negotiations
• The proposal could add momentum to growing international discussions around a binding global framework for fossil fuel reduction

💬 One quote: “[We call on governments] to adopt a treaty to stop proliferation and abandon fossil fuels as a moral and political imperative.” - as stated in the “Manifesto of the Churches of the Global South for our Common Home”

📈 One stat: Fossil fuels, coal, oil and gas, remain the largest source of global greenhouse gas emissions, driving the majority of climate change

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