“The call for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty is another feather in Kolkata’s cover,” Kolkata City Mayor Farhad Hakim said in a statement. “It is extremely important to ensure that city residents remain well prepared to minimize the catastrophic future impacts of climate change.”
“In this direction, we, with the support of the state government, have pushed several measures such as operating commercial vehicles in the city on non-fossil energy sources from 2030, in particular promoting electric vehicles in a major way, which will significantly reduce the carbon footprint of the city,” said Hakim. .
Both Kolkata and West Bengal depend heavily on India’s coal economy. More than 80% of the city’s energy depends on coal, while the state holds 11% of the country’s total coal reserves.
“Climate leadership from climate-exposed cities is essential to motivate national governments to act,” said Harjit Singh, Director of Global Engagement for the Fossil Fuel Proliferation Treaty Initiative.
“However, from a global perspective, we must not forget that the Nordic countries, historically responsible for the climate crisis, must first act to phase out oil, gas and coal,” Singh said.
Earlier today, the World Health Organization and 200 other health organizations published an unprecedented call for a global treaty to prevent the spread of fossil fuels. They urged governments to develop and implement legally binding plans to end the addition of new fossil fuel capacity and phase out current use in a fair, equitable and equitable transition.
“Modern addiction to fossil fuels is not just an act of environmental vandalism,” said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “From a health point of view, it is an act of self-sabotage.”
The treaty to end fossil fuels has also had the endorsement of notable names such as the 14th Dalai Lama, actor Emma Watson, Bangladeshi social entrepreneur Muhammad Yunus, and Indian social worker Kailash Satyarthi, among others.
It is supported by more than 100 Nobel laureates, 400 parliamentarians, and more than 1,500 civil society organizations.
