COP31: Climate advocates demand governments commit to ending fossil fuels

ANTALYA, TÜRKİYE: Climate advocates gathered outside the Blue Zone at COP31 today, as Energy Day got underway, calling on world leaders to move beyond rhetoric and commit to a rapid and fair phase-out of fossil fuels.

Campaigners from 350.org, APMDD, Climate Action Network (CAN), the Women and Gender Constituency, Demand Climate Justice and Oil Change International came together to demand an end to fossil fuel expansion and a just transition to affordable, accessible renewable energy.

The action called on world leaders to deliver concrete commitments to rapidly and fairly phase out fossil fuels, end new fossil fuel expansion and ensure that wealthy polluters pay their fair share of climate finance towards just transition, adaptation and addressing loss and damage.

Gina Cortes, 350.org

“People around the world are demanding an energy system that puts their lives, livelihoods and futures first. We are here to remind governments that the transition cannot happen on the fossil fuel industry's terms. It must be fast, fair and rooted in climate justice. The time for promises is over. We need governments to deliver a real plan to phase out fossil fuels and ensure no one is left behind.”

Haneen Hamed, Women and Gender Constituency, said:

“Ending fossil fuels is not simply about changing where our energy comes from. It is about transforming the systems that have created this crisis and continue to put profits before people. Women and frontline communities are already bearing the heaviest costs of fossil fuel dependence. A just transition must put their rights, needs and leadership at its heart. We cannot replace one broken system with another, we need an energy future built on justice, equality and renewable energy that works for everyone.”

Joao Cerqueira, 350.org, said:

“Governments cannot claim to be delivering an energy transition while continuing to approve new coal, oil and gas projects. The science is clear: we need a rapid and fair phase-out of fossil fuels, not another round of promises that allow the industry to carry on business as usual. This transition must be powered by renewable energy that is affordable and accessible to all, with public investment and community ownership at its heart. We need to break our dependence on fossil fuels, not simply recreate the same systems of corporate control and inequality under a new name.”

Elle Bartolome, APMDD, said:

“Communities across Asia and the Global South have paid the price for an energy system built around extraction, corporate profits and dependence on fossil fuels. We must not allow the energy transition to become another opportunity for corporations to profit at the expense of people and the planet. Clean energy must mean energy justice: affordable electricity, community control, respect for people's rights and an end to destructive extraction. Those who have profited most from the climate crisis must pay for the transition.”

ENDS

Notes to editors:

The action took place on Tuesday 10 November at 09:00 local time, at Location 1, Blue Zone Entrance, COP31, Antalya, Türkiye.

Participating organisations: 350.org, APMDD, Climate Action Network (CAN), Women and Gender Constituency, Demand Climate Justice and Oil Change International.