COP16 on Biodiversity: down with fossil fuels, up with life!

• Both crises are deeply connected as a result of the fossil economic model. Biodiversity loss and climate change are pushing life beyond its limits. Overcoming these tipping points threatens to destroy vital Earth systems, which in turn irreparably destabilises human societies:

  • The exploitation of coal, oil and gas severely affects ecosystems and entire communities as it generates 86% of carbon emissions over the last decade, the main cause of climate change.

  • Over the last 50 years (1970-2020), the average size of the wildlife populations analysed has declined by 73%, according to WWF's Living Planet report. The fastest declines have been observed in the global south: Latin America and the Caribbean (95% decline), followed by Africa (76%) and Asia and the Pacific (60%).

  • Climate change is one of the main drivers of biodiversity loss, which in turn exacerbates the climate crisis. Our most powerful natural defence against climate deregulation is strong ecosystems and high biodiversity, conditions that the fossil industry is destroying.

• Furthermore, fossil fuels directly threaten SDG 14 on Underwater Life and SDG 15 on Terrestrial Ecosystem Life, which represent a clear commitment to the protection of nature, as well as the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as they are impossible to achieve without protecting biodiversity.

According to Global Witness, oil, gas, mining and agribusiness are the main drivers of attacks on land and nature defenders, the historic protectors of the world's biodiversity.

• Despite the clear links between fossil fuel extraction, biodiversity loss and the violation of indigenous rights, both the CBD and the UNFCCC have avoided addressing the need for concrete solutions that directly confront the main destructive force behind both crises: the fossil fuel industry.

• However, Colombia, as host of COP16 and defender of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, has linked the climate change and biodiversity agendas, making this COP a key moment to open a new front in the elimination of fossil fuels, the change of socio-economic paradigm and reconciliation with nature.

• Therefore, more than ever, COP16 offers an opportunity to make a coherent and effective impact within the multilateral system, transforming norms, narratives and laws at national and international levels to end the root cause of the climate crisis and biodiversity loss.

• The Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty is crucial to break out of the vicious circle of these two crises. It would offer a way to stop the proliferation of extractivisms based on:

  • Repairing the territories damaged by decades of exploitation.

  • Respecting the rights of indigenous communities and protecting their territories from further destruction.

  • Prioritising the protection of highly biodiverse areas, and therefore the most vulnerable, such as coastal-marine ecosystems, or tropical forests, under increasing extractive threats.

  • Improve equitable international cooperation to ensure that countries with the greatest historical responsibility for biodiversity loss and fossil fuel extraction and use act first and fastest to halt the expansion of the industry.

  • Provide the necessary financing, technology transfer and broader systemic support to ensure that all countries can meet these commitments.

Encourage mechanisms for economic diversification that are not synonymous with the depredation of nature.

• The Amazon is one of the most biodiverse areas in the world, fundamental for life on Earth, and it is at risk of disappearing:

  • The climate crisis brought about by fossil capitalism, is causing a reduction in rainfall, and a tipping point could be reached where environmental conditions become unsuitable for the rainforest. A tipping point could be on the horizon if 20-25% of its rainforest is destroyed, and an estimated 14-17% has already been deforested.

  • Despite the severity of the crisis, governments continue to increase pressure on the forest. A large percentage overlaps with oil blocks on offer, and Ecuador is the country with the most area at risk.

• Frontline Amazonian communities have been demanding the liberation and protection of their territories from extractivism for decades, and have clearly reinforced this in recent calls:

  • The recent ‘Yes to Yasuní ’ reinforces the need to make the Amazon the first Fossil Fuels Non-Proliferation Zone, as the initial stage of a global treaty.

  • The historic agreement reached at the XI FOSPA seals the commitment of indigenous leaders and civil society organisations to a Fossil Fuel Free Amazon, rejecting false ‘green’ solutions and promoting a mandate for collective action to implement public policies that protect the Amazon from extractivism.

• A Fossil Fuel Free Amazon would allow:

  • Put an end to a set of extractive projects such as hydrocarbon projects in the region (including stopping the offer of new lots and the progressive termination of existing ones), which are promoted by states and companies, deepening a development model that has institutionalised inequalities and the dispossession of territories, bodies and cultures throughout the Amazon basin and the continent.

  • Generate financial mechanisms that oblige their support, and different from debt mechanisms, that can concretise economic models that put life and justice at the centre.

  • Strengthen policies and mechanisms to address the demands and guarantee the participation and decision-making of Indigenous Peoples and local communities, following processes of prior consultation and consent on any issue related to their territory.

• A Fossil-Fuel-Free Amazon as an example for other Fossil-Free Zones:

  • The creation of fossil fuel free areas not only has crucial implications for the Amazon, but also for other biodiverse regions of the world such as the three major forest basins: the Amazon, Congo and Southeast Asia, as well as maritime areas and the poles.

  • By setting a precedent, this Amazon initiative can be a model for connecting the Global South's resistance to extractivism, demonstrating that it is possible to protect biodiversity, communities and tackle climate change through a collective and regional approach.