Oilwatch International, a civil society organisation, has renewed its call for the phasing out of fossil fuels.
Dr Nnimmo Bassey, a Steering Committee member, made the remark in a statement issued by Kome Odhomor, the Media and Communications Lead, on Thursday.
Bassey said the recent Territories Free of Fossil Fuels conference in Santa Marta, Colombia, failed to produce actionable measures to phase out fossil fuels.
“That conference presented a great but missed opportunity. The world must move from fossil fuel phase-down to complete phase-out,” he said.
He noted that for about 30 years, Oilwatch has consistently advocated for the non-exploration of fossil fuels to avert climate crisis and environmental degradation.
The Oilwatch official added that the conference provided a platform for sharing community-led strategies to develop alternatives to fossil fuel-dependent energy systems.
“The conference, which held between April 24 and 25, largely focused on phase-down discussions rather than a complete phase-out of fossil fuels.
“The process was driven largely by trade and market environmentalism. Fossil fuel extraction is like warfare — it brings violence and destruction to the environment,” he said.
Bassey decried the inauguration of the Science Panel for the Global Energy Transition and warned that indigenous communities directly affected by fossil fuel extraction could be sidelined.
“Every just transition process should be led by those in the impacted territories, and not by politicians or co-opted academics.
“Extraction activities in the Global South amount to war against vulnerable communities and ecosystems,” he said.
