Two Pacific nation-states join countries calling for a fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty

Antigua and Barbuda and Timor-Leste join a growing bloc of six Pacific nations pushing for a fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty.

The oil and gas sector currently represents approximately 70% of Timor's gross domestic product (GDP) and more than 90% of total exports, as well as more than 80% of the state's annual revenues.

The island nations announced their endorsement of the major new climate policy proposal at the main stage of the Global Citizen Festival in New York.

This move reportedly makes them the first countries outside the Pacific region to endorse the call for an international pact to transition away from oil, gas and coal.

With the support from Antigua and Barbuda and Timor-Leste, the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty proposal is now being pushed by a bloc of eight nation-states, including Vanuatu, Tuvalu, Tonga, Fiji, Niue and the Solomon Islands.

Hon. Gaston Browne, Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda said at the festival: ‘The climate crisis is the most existential threat facing all humanity. It doesn't distinguish between European forests and Caribbean waters…This is why today I'm honoured to announce that Antigua and Barbuda join our Pacific friends in calling for a negotiation of a Fossil Fuel Treaty.’

H. E. José Ramos-Horta, President of Timor-Leste and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate 1996, said: ‘Our battle against climate change demands collective action. Fossil fuels are the chief culprits, so the world must move away from them.’