By Bunmi Yekini, BELÉM, Brazil
Pacific Island leaders pressed for a global treaty to phase out fossil fuels at the COP30 climate summit on Monday, warning that rising seas and intensifying storms threaten their survival while major producers expand oil and gas output.
Maina Vakafua Talia, Tuvalu’s Minister for Home Affairs, Climate Change and Environment, said the world must address the “root causes” of the climate crisis as he joined a high-level panel calling for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty.
“The logic is very simple. To achieve 1.5 degrees Celsius, we need a treaty that tackles the root causes of the crisis. This is about the survival of our people,” Talia said.
Talia recalled the momentum from COP21 in Paris, where Pacific nations pushed for the 1.5°C target. “Thirty years have passed. It is time for serious practical action rather than continuing to talk and talk and talk,” he said.
The Paris Agreement aims to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C, a threshold scientists say is critical to avoid severe heat, rising seas and impacts on vulnerable populations.
Ralph Regenvanu, Vanuatu’s minister for climate and energy, emphasised legal accountability, citing the International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion that states must control fossil fuel production within their borders.
“We in Vanuatu are moving to 100 percent renewable electrification by 2032. But global action is crucial. Without high emitters joining, our efforts alone will not save the Pacific,” he said.
Cambodia’s Secretary of State Chea Sam Ang warned that governments continue to plan increases in fossil fuel output. “This path defies science and endangers our collective future,” he said, announcing his country’s endorsement of the treaty.
At least 17 countries have now backed the proposed Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, supported by civil society groups including the Rapid Transition Alliance and the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom. Public health leaders and global political figures such as former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon have also endorsed the initiative.
Antigua and Barbuda’s climate ambassador Camacho-Thomas said global cooperation is essential. “A treaty creates clear practical legal and financial mechanisms. It complements the Paris Agreement while protecting the most vulnerable countries,” she said.
The panel warned that current national policies point toward nearly 2.7°C of warming. It also highlighted that major producers, including Australia, Canada, the United States, and Norway, have increased fossil fuel production by 40% since 2015.
Meanwhile, climate threats are escalating elsewhere. In Malawi, storms damaged dozens of homes in Lilongwe this week, with authorities issuing a nationwide alert for unstable weather from Nov. 17–23 as the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone brings heavy rain and flash-flood risks.
Lilongwe and Mzuzu have endorsed the fossil fuel treaty locally, with Lilongwe becoming the first African capital to do so.
Civil society groups warned that fossil fuel lobbyists have an outsized presence at COP30. An analysis by the Kick Big Polluters Out coalition said more than 1,600 lobbyists were accredited, outnumbering delegates from vulnerable countries, by nearly 50 to 1 for the Philippines, and more than 40 to 1 for Jamaica.
Trade associations brought representatives from ExxonMobil, BP and TotalEnergies, while several wealthy nations included industry actors in their official delegations, the report said.
“It is infuriating to watch the very corporations driving this crisis being given a platform to push false ‘solutions’ while communities facing floods, droughts and heatwaves are underrepresented,” said Jax Bonbon of Philippines-based IBON International.
Rachitaa Gupta of the Global Campaign to Demand Climate Justice said allowing fossil fuel lobbyists into UN climate talks amounted to a “betrayal” of the process. Other activists highlighted links between fossil fuel expansion, gender inequality and the marginalisation of Indigenous Peoples.
“From the halls of the UNFCCC to our lands, fossil fuel corporations are wrecking our communities and environment,” said Nerisha Baldevu of Friends of the Earth Africa.