A Livable Future Starts Now: Why We Must Say No to Fossil Fuels

Keynote speech by Beth Doherty, Ireland Youth Climate Delegate 2024-2025, at the Fossil Fuel Non Proliferation Treaty High-Level Event in Dublin in February.

The event was entitled “How Driving Climate Action Can Accelerate the Sustainable Development Goals” with the panel discussion chaired by Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland and co-founder of Project Dandelion.

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I'd like to reflect on a few key takeaways from the day and where we can go from here. Critically I'd like to emphasize the need for us to reject the fossil fuel era, to understand the possibilities that we have and to be brave enough to reimagine how we go forward as a country uniquely positioned to take leadership in this transition.

I first got involved with climate advocacy 6 years ago when I was 15, originally with the school strikes here in Dublin, since then I’ve been involved in a few different things and as Dearbhla said I'm currently serving as Ireland's Climate Youth Delegate. As part of this role, last summer myself and my predecessor met with a lot of young people from around the country from a lot ofdifferent organizations, a lot of different communities to get their perspective on what they wanted from COP29. Some of the really key themes that came out of that have also arisen today.

Primarily, the really key message we got was that they want clean development, they want their homes, their communities and their country powered by energy that doesn't destroy the environment and human rights. They want leadership which is brave enough to reject the fossil-fuel based systems we developed 200 years ago and which instead moves towards prioritizing sustainability and imagining what our world looks like when we move away from these fossil fuels. They want a just transition, moving away from fossil fuels in a way that supports people to have good jobs, supports the most vulnerable and crucially putspeople and long-term sustainability over short-term profits for a small number of companies. In essence, they wanted an equitable fossil fuel phase out. A lot of young people were also veryconcerned by the role of fossil fuel companies in driving climate policy at the moment and in these negotiation, which was also mentioned by former President Mary Robinson on the panel.

Throughout these experiences with young people and then especially on the ground at COP28 and COP29 I've been struck by how long fossil fuels - the dominant cause of the climate crisis- have remained the elephant in the room. As we heard on the panel, none of our three key International agreements on the climate crisis even mentioned them. It took us 28 COPs toeven name the cause of the crisis we're working to tackle, while fossil fuel companies continue to lobby these negotiations and their outcomes.

While fossil fuels and the companies that run the industry keep themselves out of the spotlight of climate action, they have continued to pollute our communities, to violate human rights andto destroy our chance of maintaining a livable climate. Despite the scientific consensus that we're all aware of - that we can't continue to proliferate new fossil fuels - we still lack a commitment to, at a minimum, no new fossil fuel expansion going forward. Even if we stopped issuing new licenses globally today we would have enough oil coal and gas to keeppowering us until 2050. Every single new license that we grant is an acceptance of continuing the climate crisis and a vote in favor of violations of human rights and regression on the SGS, especially licenses in the Global North.

So why have we struggled to take the necessary bold action in ending thefossil fuel era despite this scientific urgency?

This is a story of denial, of greenwashing, of making us believe we are dependent on fossil fuels, focusing on the actions of individuals rather than the wider structures around us andundermining the voices of the public and those affected by the climate crisis. It started with denial going way back to the 1970s when the American Petroleum Institute created a task force to monitor developments on climate change. Then, an internal assessment by Exxonmobil predicted catastrophic effects unless we left 80% of the fossil fuels that were available underground. Despite this knowledge, the API proceeded to suggest that continued fossil fuel exploration would be safe and actually beneficial for us all. At the same time they shifted the responsibility and focus away from their activities towards individuals, with BP inventing the term ‘personal carbon footprint’ and spending millions advertising it.

As people became more aware of the realities of the climate crisis, the fossil fuel industry shifted to what's called necessitarianism which is where they convinced us that we cannot live without their product, without fossil fuels. The reality is we can't continue to live with it if we want clean air, healthy communities, good jobs and all of the other promises of the SDGs.

Lobbying has persisted throughout all of these phases. At COP28 there were 2,500 lobbyists and at COP29, which was itself a smaller COP, there were 1700. To put that in perspective they outnumbered the top 10 most climate vulnerable nations combined. If you compare the presence of the fossil fuel industry with those going underwater because of the emissions fromthese companies, what does that say about the priorities of these negotiations at the moment? Fundamentally right now the bottom line of the fossil fuel companies inherently conflict with the goals and commitments of those striving for meaningful systemic climate action and the kind of future that we've discussed today. Yet they continue to get more representatives than those being affected by this crisis.

The interests of fossil fuel companies inherently conflict with the promises of the SDGs and our continued reliance on fossil fuels undermines our ability to reach these goals together. The effects on climate action life on land and life on water are well documented and the panel did a fantastic job of outlining the different effects on various SDGs. For example, health with rising asthma especially in children and pollution in the water we drink. As Johnny mentioned, fossil fuels are a health hazard and this is a health emergency. We are being asked to pay for the profits of companies with our health and with our lives so they can make more money until we run out of these oil fossil fuels. For gender equality, Lidy outlined how fossil fuels exacerbate gender equalities and the specific vulnerabilities of women particularly to the effects of the climate crisis. I would also draw attention to the links of the fossil fuel industry with SDG 16, conflict and peace. Fossil fuels, which the world continues to subsidize at $11 million a minute,fuel destruction of our planet peace and human rights fossil fuels worldwide. They power war, they power genocide and they power crimes against humanity. Not only do they power this, they actively profit from war and from the destruction of human rights. In the words of Allie Rosebluth, “the fossil fuel industry is not just destroying our climate, it is actively profiting from genocide.”

To me this really shows the interconnected nature of the climate crisis and how the climate crisis touches absolutely every issue which Niamh outlined and how every single SDG is dependent on us tackling the climate crisis. We can't look at any of this in isolation from itself.

I realise this is a really bleak picture, but it's not a guaranteed one. We're at a juncture now with the power and the ability to change this story and to change the course of development that we were put on with fossil fuels 200 years ago. Ireland is in a unique position to lead on ending the fossil fuel era, to move away from fossil fuel dependency and to step us up to lead transition. Ireland has already taken leadership in many ways including banning new licenses for fossil fuel exploration and internationally through the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance. We now have the chance to go even further and to create an international commitment to halting any new fossil fuel infrastructure and giving ourselves the chance to develop cleanly and with respect for human rights while still achieving the SDGs.

Ireland has a proud and strong record of and commitment to overseas aid. It has always strived to show solidarity with the Small Island Developing States who are facing the brunt of continued global dependency on fossil fuels. We now have the chance to join with Small Island States and to lead on this energy transition globally, to put the survival of the most affected people over the profits of these companies. This is also an opportunity to work globally for increased stronger and fairer climate finance that meets the global climate finance need and and doesn't continue cycles of debt. Especially given Ireland's strong record in overseas aid and support this is a place where I think we can really lead.

The benefits of renewables, especially compared to destructive fossil fuels, are well documented and outlined especially by the panel. Jobs for rural communities, improving energy security by not continuing to rely on imported oil and gas lower energy costs for ordinarypeople and improved health for us all and this can come from the national level but also as Lucas outlined really harnessing the power of cities here in Ireland to lead on this change and get the benefits for the populations of these cities. We know that the energy transition needs to happen locally, nationally and globally and it needs to happen now. We can't afford to continue to delay or to believe the messages that have been sent out by the fossil fuel industry any longer.

As a country with strong links to humanitarian work and a proud record of global solidarity we now have the opportunity to treat the climate crisis as the humanitarian crisis that it isand call for the strong systemic change we need to end the fossil fuel era. Therefore as we go forward, we need to be bold enough to reimagine our world. Until now, fossil fuel interests have relied on us believing that there's no other way, but we know that there is and that Ireland can be the one to lead that. We need bold action locally and nationally to build cleaner communities,to end the fossil fuel era and to support those who need it most. Through this, we can build a collective healthy future rather than build profits. With this we can rewrite the story about how we're developing and we can change course away from fossil fuels towards a path based in science, human rights and a livable future for us. Now is the time and Ireland is the country with the ability to lead this charge if we take this opportunity while we still can.

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Find out more about the Fossil Fuel Non Proliferation Treaty here.