Re: Article “Fridays for Future celebrates four years pushing for change,” published by Sudbury.com Aug. 26.
We were pleasantly surprised when Mayor Brian Bigger said, “I'm hoping that our city council will support the Non-Proliferation Treaty. It falls directly in line with all the strategies that we've developed and so strongly supported up to now and continues on that support and our commitment.”
For over a year, Fridays for Future Sudbury has been pushing for a commitment to the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty.
The number one source of global warming pollution is fossil fuels. Oil, coal, and gas are destroying our one and only climate. We need to carefully unwind our economy from the burning of fossil fuels. This needs to be a global effort just like unwinding the superpowers from nuclear weapons in the late 1960s.
This plan will advance action under three pillars:
One: Ending expansion to coal, oil, and natural gas immediately
Two: Phase out stockpiles in existing oil, gas fields and coal mines
Three: Peacefully transitioning to new and renewable energy sources
Toronto Mayor John Tory supported it and so did Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart - showing that the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty has support from both right and left-leaning politicians. In fact, over 60 cities around the world have endorsed it.
We hope that all city councillors and Greater Sudburians will support it too. Let’s make Greater Sudbury the first city in Northern Ontario to endorse it just like we were the first city in Ontario to declare a climate emergency.
We will keep you posted on developments but for now please everyone mark their calendars for Friday, September 23 in the morning for the next Fridays For Future day of global climate action. We hope to see you all at Laurentian University, including politicians.
The Fridays for Future Youth,
Sophia Mathur, Jane Walker, Arjun Shukla, Maggie Fu and Salma Mohammed