In a joint statement 28 Ukrainian, Norwegian, European and international NGOs have urged the EU and Norway governments to stop subsidizing the fossil fuel industry and exclude oil and gas from the announced green industry agreement, which is expected to be signed at COP27 climate change conference in November.

“It is imperative that the EU not simply replace Russian-produced fossil fuels with fossil fuels from other countries, including Norway, but rather start real decarbonization. Together with the priority of boycotting Russian oil and gas, fossil fuel expansion must be immediately halted globally, and European nations must commit to lead on the rapid and just transition away from all fossil fuels towards renewables”, argues the statement initiated by Razom We Stand, the international Ukraine solidarity group.

Ukrainian, Norwegian, European and international сivil society organizations are unanimous in condemning allocation of scarce public funds to massively subsidize fossil fuel infrastructure and carbon capture and storage technology. The NGOs argue that such a decision would be a regrettable example of poor decision-making and ineffective risk management, which can make the EU's and Norway’s efforts to address the climate crisis inadequate. The NGOs point out that it would be particularly reckless for the EU to endorse Norwegian oil and gas exploration at a time when Norway is increasingly looking towards the Arctic for new exploration acreage, something the EU’s European Commissioner for Climate Action, Frans Timmermans, has previously condemned while meeting Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.

“By endorsing further exploration, the EU is encouraging the lock-in of fossil fuels for decades to come - recklessly gambling against the targets of the Paris Agreement and its own climate targets”, reads the NGO statement.

The UNEP Production Gap Report, created by leading research institutes and the UN Environment Programme, finds that, despite increased climate ambitions and net-zero commitments, governments still plan to produce more than double the amount of fossil fuels in 2030 than what would be consistent with limiting global warming to 1.5°C. In this context, climate and energy experts have warned that the only way to reach the targets set in the Paris Agreement is to immediately halt any expansion of fossil fuel production.

New data published by Carbon Tracker Initiative on September 19th shows that producing and combusting the world’s fossil fuel reserves would yield over 3.5 trillion tons of greenhouse gas emissions, over seven times the remaining carbon budget for 1.5C and more than all emissions produced since the industrial revolution.

The joint statement was signed by:

Razom We Stand, Coalition “Energy Transition” (Ukraine) and members of Ukrainian Climate Network: Center for environmental initiatives Ecoaction (Ukraine), NGO “Plato” (Ukraine), NGO “Zero waste Lutsk” (Ukraine), NGO Ekoltava (Ukraine), IG Mariupol Zero Waste (Ukraine), NGO Zero Waste Society (Ukraine), NGO Ecological news (Kherson, Ukraine), NGO "Wetland park Osokorky" (Ukraine), NGO Green Leaf (Odessa, Ukraine), NGO Khmelnytskyi energy cluster (Ukraine), NGO SaveDnipro (Ukraine), NGO National Ecological Center of Ukraine, ICO “Environment-People-Law”, Oil Change International, Friends of the Earth Norway (Naturvernforbundet), Greenpeace Norway, Centre for International Environmental Law (CIEL), 350.org, Les Amis de la Terre France, Uplift (UK), International Marine Mammal Project of Earth Island Institute, Andy Gheorghiu Consulting (Germany/International), Justice Institute Guyana, EKOenergy ecolabel (Finland), Grand(m)others Act to Save the Planet (GASP), Leave it in the Ground Initiative (LINGO, Germany).

Razom We Stand NGO, which initiated the statement, is a grassroots organization calling for a total and permanent embargo on Russian fossil fuels and an immediate end to all investment into Russian oil and gas companies. It seeks to build momentum for a redesign of the global economy and major financial mobilization for investments into new clean, smart and efficient energy systems based on renewables.
 
Press contacts:
Ukraine/International: Oleh Savytskyi        oleh@razomwestand.org
Norway: Aled Dilwyn Fisher                adf@naturvernforbundet.no