End Fossil Fuels! More than 400 actions planned for this weekend – can YOU join us?

Published on September 12th, 2023

Tagged: action, climate action, World

the Global Fight to End Fossil Fuels has registered over 400 actions, marches, rallies, and events around the world. These mobilisations against fossil fuels are coordinated by more than 780 endorsing organizations, and are expected to draw millions of participants between 15-17 September.

The actions are part of a mass global escalation demanding a rapid end to fossil fuels in a just and equitable manner ahead of the UN Climate Ambition Summit on September 20 in New York. UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called on world leaders to make ambitious commitments to phase out fossil fuels.

Tasneem Essop, Executive Director, Climate Action NetworK:

“July 2023 was the hottest month in recorded climate history. The unparalleled, deadly climate disasters sweeping the world seem to leave polluters unfazed. Historical emitters like Norway, the UK and the USA are announcing new fossil fuel projects even as floods, fires and heatwaves take over our lives. We take inspiration from recent victories in the Yasuni region with the referendum to stop oil drilling. When we the people use our collective power we can win. Let our resistance against fossil fuels in September send a loud message to the fossil fuel industry and their supporters that their time is up.”

This historic global mobilisation renews and reinforces the coordinated efforts focused on ending the era of fossil fuels. The scale of this mobilisation and the urgency of the moment underscore the devastating impacts of recent record-breaking heat, deadly floods, and increased extreme weather events. The mobilisations are expected to draw millions of people and put a spotlight on world leaders who continue to expand oil, gas, and coal. The campaign calls for renewed commitments for a rapid, just, and equitable phase out from fossil fuels and a move towards sustainable renewables. UN Secretary-General António Guterres and millions of people around the globe are putting pressure on world leaders to phase out fossil fuels and oppose the fossil fuel industry, which profits from the oppression of millions.

Catherine Abreu ,Founder & Executive Director Destination Zero, Co-chair, Global Gas and Oil Network (GGON):

”Deny, delay, deceive: the desperate tactics used by desperate men to cover up the truth of climate change, crush government action, and convince us to lay the blame for the devastation we’re facing somewhere other than where it belongs – squarely at the feet of the fossil fuel industry. The march to end fossil fuels, alongside the UN Secretary General’s powerful Acceleration Agenda, is ringing an alarm that will wake the world. International consensus that we need a just and equitable phase-out of all fossil fuels is clearer than ever. It’s time our climate treaties name the cause of the crisis – COP28 can and must deliver an agreement to rapidly shift to efficient, safe, renewable energy.’

The science is clear: the world needs a rapid and just transition to an efficient, fair, and universal energy system based on clean energy sources, and produced with respect for nature and the sovereign rights of Indigenous peoples and local communities. The latest data backs up the International Energy Agency finding that no new fossil fuel extraction can be developed under a 1.5°C limit, and shows that over half of existing fields and mines be shut down early while protecting workers and communities. The responsibility lies with the leaders of rich nations with a historical legacy of pollution to deliver a fast and fair phase out of fossil fuels and fund it globally.