Here is a letter you can use as a template to ask your Councillor to support a motion to endorse the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Note: sometimes when copying linked text from this website to a Word document, (link sends e-mail) is automatically inserted. Please delete these before sending your letter.
If you are sending a paper letter, you might prefer to have the PDF format. You can also access it as a Google doc.
Feel free to personalize your email! Let your councillor know what your concerns are.
Cc mayor_tory@toronto.ca and bcc climatefast@climatefast.ca
Individual councillor contact information is here. If you want to bcc all the councillors you can use this compiled list of councillors' email addresses.
Dear Councillor ____
I am a constituent in your ward, and the climate crisis concerns me more than any issue, because it is indeed existential. I am asking you to support the motion to call for a Fossil Fuel Non-proliferation Treaty that will come before Council at the July 14th meeting. Recently the New York Times reported that the concentration of CO2 in the Earth's atmosphere passed 419 ppm, more than 50% higher than in preindustrial times and the curve is heading straight up; global warming is not slowing down. The earth has not had this much CO2 in the atmosphere for millions of years. We are headed for catastrophic climate breakdown.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report requires cuts of 7% of GHG emissions each year every year in this crucial turnaround decade to avoid catastrophic climate breakdown. The International Energy Agency has warned that there can be no more new fossil fuel projects if we are to keep below 1.5 degrees of warming and an immediate phase-out is needed, with massive ramp up of renewable energy.
Our children need us to take action to rapidly stop burning fossil fuels. We are already well into the last decade when we can hope to turn things around and steer the ship in the right direction. City Council took a step forward in declaring a climate emergency in October of 2019.
A new global initiative is underway calling for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty that would end new fossil fuel exploration and expansion, phase out existing production in line with the global commitment to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, and accelerate equitable transition. Support is building internationally, with 101 Nobel Laureates and an open letter signed by 1300 scientists and academics. The City of Vancouver has also signed on to support the call.
Toronto City City Council should act now to add Toronto's support to this important commitment. I am asking you as my councillor to support the following recommendations:
1. City Council formally endorse the call for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty.
2. City Council request that the City Manager send a letter to the Prime Minister of Canada requesting the federal government to negotiate a global treaty for the non-proliferation of fossil fuels.
3. City Council affirm its ongoing commitment to the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement and the greenhouse gas reduction targets and aspires to meet its proportionate greenhouse gas reductions.
Thank you for your consideration of this request.
Sincerely,
(your name)
P.S. Want to read more about the case for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty? Visit the website: www.fossilfueltreaty.org