COP26: Denmark and Costa Rica Formally Kick Off Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance

Date: November 11, 2021

GLASGOW (November 11, 2021) — Today, at COP26, Denmark and Costa Rica have formalized the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance (BOGA). Six nations will join as full members including France, Greenland, Ireland, Quebec, Sweden and Wales. The state of California, Portugal, and New Zealand will also join the alliance as associate members, and Italy will join as a Friends of BOGA. These founding members have signed onto the alliance to mitigate the worst impacts of climate crisis and deliver on the Paris Agreement. Phasing out of oil and gas production and moving forward with clean energy is necessary to meet this challenge.

All countries, including BOGA members, must now commit to ending all new oil and gas projects, including in already licensed areas, and Global North producing countries must start reducing production immediately and at an accelerated pace as part of an equitable phase out of global fossil fuel production.

Statement from Kay Brown, Arctic Policy Director, Pacific Environment:

“We’re calling on all Pacific oil and gas producing states to join the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance. To combat the worst effects of climate change, we must keep existing oil and gas reserves in the ground and rapidly scale clean energy. We commend Denmark and Costa Rica for leading this alliance and California for joining, and we are particularly disappointed to see that the United States, Canada, Norway and the majority of their oil producing states and regions chose not to join during COP26. President Biden and Prime Ministers Trudeau and Støre are not climate leaders if they cannot put time-bound oil and gas phase out plans in motion now.”

###

Contact: Gwen Dobbs, Pacific Environment, [email protected], 202-329-9295

Pacific Environment is a global environmental organization that protects communities and wildlife of the Pacific Rim. We support community leaders to fight climate change, protect the oceans, build just societies, and move away from fossil fuels toward a green economy.