Fossil fuel treaty

TO THE HONORABLE DONALD J. TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, 1
AND TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE AND THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF 2
REPRESENTATIVES, AND TO THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF 3
THE UNITED STATES, IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED: 4
We, your Memorialists, the Senate and House of Representatives of 5
the State of Washington, in legislative session assembled, 6
respectfully represent and petition as follows: 7
WHEREAS, The scientific consensus is clear that human activities 8
are primarily responsible for accelerating global climate change, and 9
that the climate crisis now represents one of the preeminent threats 10
to global civilization; and 11
WHEREAS, The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is clear 12
that we must achieve net zero in greenhouse gas emissions by the 13
middle of this century in order to have a reasonable chance of 14
limiting catastrophic levels of global warming; and15
WHEREAS, Changes in Washington's climate are already being felt, 16
with examples of heat dome, wildfire, drought, sea level rise, 17
flooding, changes in the hydropower system, and impacts on salmon 18
including treaty rights and obligations; and 19
WHEREAS, Our entire society will be impacted by the health and 20
safety risks of fossil fuel expansion, particularly those who also 21
face socioeconomic and health inequities, including low-income 22
families, those experiencing homelessness, people of color and 23
H-0624.1
HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL 4003
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Representatives Street, Doglio, Wylie, Ramel, Kloba, Mena, Duerr,
Lekanoff, Thai, Cortes, Peterson, Ryu, Gregerson, Macri, Berg,
Pollet, Bergquist, Nance, Goodman, Thomas, Parshley, Berry, Stearns,
Donaghy, Obras, Taylor, Hill, Santos, Springer, Scott, Reeves, Reed,
Salahuddin, Ortiz-Self, Ormsby, Zahn, and Simmons
Read first time 01/28/25. Referred to Committee on Environment &
Energy.
p. 1 HJM 4003
Indigenous people, youth, seniors, those experiencing mental and 1
physical disabilities, and people with health conditions; and2
WHEREAS, Our youth and future generations have the most to lose 3
from a lack of immediate action to stop fossil fuel expansion as they 4
face major and lifelong health, ecological, social, and economic 5
impacts from prolonged and cumulative effects of climate change, 6
including food and water shortages, infectious diseases, and natural 7
disasters; and 8
WHEREAS, The Paris Climate Agreement is silent on coal, oil, and 9
gas, an omission with respect to the supply and production of fossil 10
fuels (the most significant source of climate altering pollution) 11
that needs to be collectively addressed by other means; and12
WHEREAS, Our planet is on track to warm by 3.1 degrees Celsius 13
unless governments undertake more significant efforts to limit 14
climate pollution; and 15
WHEREAS, The construction of new fossil fuel infrastructure and 16
expanded reliance on fossil fuels exposes communities to untenable 17
risks to public health and safety at the local and global levels; and18
WHEREAS, The economic opportunities presented by a clean energy 19
transition far outweigh the opportunities presented by an economy 20
supported by expanding fossil fuel use and extraction; and21
WHEREAS, The Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty has been 22
formally called for by 16 nation-states, the European Parliament, the 23
Vatican, and more than 125 cities and subnational governments 24
globally, including the Washington city of Yakima, as well as the 25
Hawaii, California, and Maine State Legislatures; and26
WHEREAS, The Washington State Legislature is committed to a just 27
energy transition and to ambitious investments in the green 28
infrastructure and industries that will create jobs and rapidly 29
decarbonize our economy; and 30
WHEREAS, The Washington State Legislature recognizes that it is 31
the urgent responsibility and moral obligation of wealthy fossil fuel 32
producers to lead in putting an end to fossil fuel development and to 33
manage the decline of existing production; and 34
WHEREAS, In 2019, the Washington State Legislature passed Senate 35
Bill No. 5145 which prohibits the use of hydraulic fracturing in oil 36
and gas exploration within Washington; and 37
WHEREAS, In 2020, the Washington State Legislature passed 38
Engrossed Second Substitute House Bill No. 2311, committing to 39
p. 2 HJM 4003
science-based targets for greenhouse gas emissions, requiring 1
incremental progress toward net zero emissions by 2050; and2
WHEREAS, In 2021, the Washington State Legislature passed the 3
Climate Commitment Act which creates a market mechanism to cap 4
emissions of climate pollution, reduce emissions steadily over time 5
to achieve our science-based targets, and invest revenue in 6
solutions; and 7
WHEREAS, In 2021, the Washington State Legislature passed the 8
HEAL Act, Engrossed Second Substitute Senate Bill No. 5141, to reduce 9
environmental and health disparities in Washington, including 10
disparities caused by climate change; and 11
WHEREAS, In 2024, the people of Washington State reaffirmed their 12
resolve to continue to pursue ambitious action to mitigate the 13
climate crisis by roundly rejecting Initiative 2117 that would have 14
repealed the Climate Commitment Act; and 15
WHEREAS, The Washington State Legislature supports the new global 16
initiative calling for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty that 17
would end new fossil fuel exploration and expansion, phase out 18
existing production in line with the global commitment to limit 19
warming as much as possible, and accelerate equitable transition 20
plans; and 21
WHEREAS, The Washington State Legislature affirms its ongoing 22
commitment to the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement and the 23
greenhouse gas reduction targets as called for by the 24
intergovernmental panel on climate change, and pledges to meet its 25
proportionate greenhouse gas reductions under the Paris Climate 26
Agreement and Engrossed Second Substitute House Bill No. 2311;27
NOW, THEREFORE, Your Memorialists respectfully pray that the 28
United States government join the global community in formally 29
developing a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty as an international 30
mechanism to manage a global transition away from coal, oil, and gas.31
BE IT RESOLVED, That the Legislature formally endorses the call 32
for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty. 33
BE IT RESOLVED, That Washington State agrees with the principle 34
of the nonproliferation of fossil fuels and the need to end the 35
expansion of new coal, oil, and gas production. 36
BE IT RESOLVED, That Washington State affirms the need for a plan 37
to phase out existing fossil fuel production that prioritizes the 38
most impacted workers and local government services with short-term 39
and long-term investments that include enforceable labor standards, 40
p. 3 HJM 4003
such as prevailing wages, apprenticeship opportunities, and project 1
labor agreements, to protect workers and communities.2
BE IT RESOLVED, That copies of this Memorial be immediately 3
transmitted to the Honorable Donald J. Trump, President of the United 4
States, the Vice President of the United States, the Majority and 5
Minority Leaders of the Senate, the Minority Leader of the House of 6
Representatives, the Governor of the State of Washington, the United 7
Nations Secretary-General, the United Nations High Commissioner for 8
Human Rights, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker 9
of the House of Representatives, and each member of Congress from the 10
State of Washington. 11
--- END ---
p. 4 HJM 4003