More than 200 artists and cultural figures have urged world leaders to back a Fossil Fuel Treaty, adding creative momentum to the global push for phasing out coal, oil and gas.
More than 200 artists, musicians, actors, filmmakers, photographers and performers from around the world have signed an open letter urging world leaders to back a Fossil Fuel Treaty, joining a growing international push for a just transition away from coal, oil and gas.
The letter, released on June 25, marks the formal entry of the artistic and cultural sector into the global movement for a Fossil Fuel Treaty, an initiative that already has the support of 18 countries as well as thousands of scientists, faith leaders, health professionals and parliamentarians. It is also backed by hundreds of cities, Indigenous communities, trade unions, Nobel Laureates and more than one million individuals worldwide.
The signatories include globally recognised names such as Brian Eno, Jane Fonda, Susan Sarandon, Jameela Jamil and Robert Smith, alongside artists celebrated in their own countries and regions, from Brazilian visual artist Mundano and Colombia’s La Linterna to British photographer Misan Harriman and many others.
They join long-time supporters including Emma Watson, Mark Ruffalo, Massive Attack and Coldplay x This Is Our Home, adding fresh momentum to a campaign seeking an end to fossil fuels.
In the letter, the signatories write: “Oil, gas and coal are not just energy sources. When extracted from the ground, where they belong, they become weapons of mass destruction, destabilising our climate, endangering our lives, and silencing entire cultures. They are suffocating the very world that inspires our art. We are artists, musicians, actors, performers, poets, filmmakers, dancers, writers and creators. We are storytellers and dreamers. We are messengers of emotion and amplifiers of hope. And we are adding our voices, loud, clear, unrelenting, to the global call for a Fossil Fuel Treaty.”
The surge of support comes at what campaigners describe as a pivotal moment for international efforts to phase out fossil fuels.
In April 2026, Colombia and the Netherlands hosted the First International Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels in Santa Marta, a gathering supporters said broke decades of diplomatic deadlock by launching a new multilateral process dedicated to phasing out coal, oil and gas. According to its final outcome report, the conference showed the strongest global support to date for a Fossil Fuel Treaty.
The initiative is set to continue in 2027, when Tuvalu and Ireland will co-host the Second Conference in the Pacific, a region where communities and nations are facing what campaigners described as literal erasure from rising seas. Discussions there are expected to move from dialogue toward concrete commitments, including the development of a Fossil Fuel Treaty.
Jane Fonda, the actress and activist, said the climate crisis had reached a point where silence was no longer an option.
“We are living through a time of fires, floods and bombs where our children’s future is being stolen by the fossil fuel industry that values profit over life. But history tells us that when people stand up together and speak out, change happens. Artists have always been the heartbeat of every great movement, using our visibility to shine a light on dangers and injustices. That’s why I’m calling on every creator to sign this letter and demand a Fossil Fuel Treaty. We cannot wait one more second to save our planet and save ourselves,” she said.
Brian Eno, the producer, musician and songwriter, said artists had a crucial role in imagining alternatives during a period of overlapping global crises.
“Artists are people who imagine other worlds and offer us the chance to explore our feelings about them. With multiple crises unfolding across our world, that kind of imagination has a vital role to play. I encourage artists everywhere to sign this letter and support the call for a Fossil Fuel Treaty so we can help shape a more peaceful and sustainable future,” he said.
Kumi Naidoo, president of the Fossil Fuel Treaty initiative, said cultural backing could help strengthen the diplomatic process.
“A movement only becomes a movement of substance, size, and power when the artists say: We want to add our voice. In every struggle for justice I have been part of, artists have given us the songs to march to, the images to remember, the stories to reflect on, and the futures to build. Artists are not just witnesses to the climate crisis, they help us face it, because they remind us that this fight is not only about what we must end, but about what we are fighting to protect: our capacity for celebration, for hope, and for love. The growing support of hundreds of artists calling for a Fossil Fuel Treaty brings cultural weight to a diplomatic process that now needs the world behind it,” he said.
Photographer and activist Misan Harriman said the climate crisis was visible in the human suffering he has documented.
“Photography, like protest, is about bearing witness. For years, I’ve pointed my camera at the front lines of injustice, and the climate crisis is no different. Fossil fuels are not an abstract policy issue, they are the root cause behind so much of the suffering I have captured: displacement, conflict, communities torn apart. I cannot look away, and I’m asking other artists not to look away either by signing this letter calling for a Fossil Fuel Treaty,” he said.
Actress Alysia Reiner said storytelling could help inspire collective action.
“As an actress and creator I love telling stories that open hearts, educate and illuminate, through loving action vs fear. Phasing out Fossil Fuels is such a story it is a path forward for our planet. It is how we can work together in unity and compassion for ourselves, all species, planet earth,” she said.
Fabián Villa, project manager and graphic designer at La Linterna, a Colombian letterpress workshop, said art and the environment were inseparable.
“Llevamos casi un siglo imprimiendo a mano, letra por letra, los carteles que han contado la historia de nuestra gente. En la COP16 sobre la biodiversidad de Cali, y en la conferencia de Santa Marta, hemos creado afiches para transmitir por qué un Tratado sobre Combustibles Fósiles es importante para proteger la biodiversidad, el clima y las comunidades. Hoy firmamos esta carta porque sabemos que el arte y la tierra están hechos del mismo material: si se acaba uno, se acaba el otro. Hagamos lo que diga el corazón, y el corazón también exige un Tratado de Combustibles Fósiles,” he said.
Brazilian visual artist Mundano said his work directly reflects environmental destruction caused by fossil fuels.
“My art is painted with the very evidence of our collapse. When I use spilled crude oil or ashes from our forests, I am documenting an environmental crime scene. Phasing out fossil fuels is a matter of immediate survival. Until we stop extracting this poison, I will keep using its residues to expose the truth,” he said.
