While the U.S. Doubles Down on Fossil Fuels, Other Countries Are Charting a Path Away From Them

The recent Santa Marta conference in Colombia was the world’s first diplomatic conference expressly dedicated to phasing out fossil fuels.

Under the Trump administration, the U.S. government has been hell-bent on enriching the fossil fuel industry at the expense of humanity. But elsewhere, the fight for a fossil fuel-free future has broken new ground.

In late April, dozens of world governments — led by Colombia and the Netherlands — convened the first ever international diplomatic conference on phasing out fossil fuels, demonstrating the kind of leadership the world needs today. It’s a refreshing contrast from what we’ve seen from Washington.

Just two days before Earth Day, for example, President Trump issued an order invoking his authority under the Defense Production Act to expand domestic production and exports of fossil fuels, purportedly to boost national security.

The Defense Production Act, which dates back to the Cold War, gives the president power to authorize robust government intervention in the economy and promote production in particular sectors in the interest of “national security.” But it takes a singularly narrow and flawed definition of “national security” to arrive at the conclusion that we need more oil, gas, and coal production in this country.

The U.S. is already the world’s largest oil and gas producer, and a major exporter. This should not be a point of pride. It exposes communities who live in the vicinity of fracking and drilling, pipelines, refineries, and export terminals to toxic air and water pollution and potentially deadly fires and explosions. A disproportionate share of these communities are Indigenous, Black, brown, and poor.