Asian bishops back campaign against fossil fuel proliferation

Asian bishops back campaign against fossil fuel proliferation

Catholic bishops in Asia have supported an ongoing campaign that calls for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty that seeks to battle climate change.  

Bishop Allwyn D’Silva, chairman of the Federation of Asian Bishops Conferences (FABC) Office of Human Development and Climate Change Desk, said such a treaty “is a vital player in tackling the impending climate crisis.”

“The FABC is with you, and we are trying our best and will try our best” to have the treaty at the next COP meeting, the retired Auxiliary Bishop of Bombay told a learning session on the treaty.

The study session was organized online by Laudato Si’ Movement, a global Catholic climate action forum.

The group was formed in 2015 with inspiration from Pope Francis’ celebrated environmental encyclical, Laudato Si, which stresses global action for environmental protection and the fight against the climate crisis.

D’Silva said he was in the study session “to show support” for the campaign seeking to battle climate change. “We all realize the dangers of climate change,” he said in the video message released by the Laudato Si Movement, a global Catholic climate action forum.

Climate activists say most international treaties on climate change have ignored the challenges from fossil fuels.

The Paris Agreement, a legally binding international treaty on climate change adopted by 196 Parties at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP21) in Paris, failed to mention fossil fuels.

The latest climate conference, COP 27 held in Egypt last year, also did not mention the challenges coming from the use of oil and gas.

A bloc of Pacific Nations began a call for a treaty against fossil fuel proliferation saying such an international agreement is necessary to complement other agreements and treaties, and to create affordable clean energy for all.

D’Silva urged “all to join this bloc of Pacific Nations in their call for a treaty…to accelerating an equitable shift away from fossil fuels to affordable, abundant, clean energy for all.” 

The prelate said all should join hands together to show “our solidarity in trying to persuade governments and other important people who are responsible for this climate change, for this climate emergency,” he said.

Only “few governments have promised” to adopt the treaty and called on businesses, communities, and policymakers to unite in the campaign to bring the treaty to fruition, Bishop D’Silva said.

“We [need] the businesspeople. We also require communities. We want people who influence the policies and the decision-making in our countries,” the prelate added.