Fossil Free Parliament's 'No Fossil Funding' Pledge

Fossil Free Parliament is asking MPs and Peers to sign the following personal pledge to refuse financial and other benefits from the fossil fuel industry and organisations representing fossil fuel industry interests.

It is very clear that if we are to have a chance of keeping global heating to the 1.5 degree limit set by the Paris Agreement, the vast majority of fossil fuel reserves must stay in the ground. This has been argued by experts all over the globe, including the International Energy Agency, who advised in their 2021 report on achieving net zero emissions, that there can be "no investment in new fossil fuel supply projects". Despite this (and their own green claims), most fossil fuel companies are investing more and more in new fossil fuel projects.

One of the ways that the fossil fuel industry garners political support for its destructive business model is through the offer of benefits - like gifts and donations - to MPs and Peers. When MPs and Peers accept such benefits, they implicitly condone the industry's dangerous disregard for its role in accelerating the climate crisis, and open themselves up to potential influence in favour of the industry's interests.

Please sign the No Fossil Funding pledge and commit to rejecting any offers of benefits from the fossil fuel industry or organisations representing the industry's interests. By doing so, you will be making a clear statement to both the industry and the public that, at this critical time for climate and energy policy-making, your favour cannot be bought.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to email us on info@fossilfreeparliament.uk

THE NO FOSSIL FUNDING PLEDGE

I do not and will not accept financial or other benefits from the fossil fuel industry and organisations representing fossil fuel industry interests, including but not limited to:

  1. Donations
  2. Gifts, benefits or hospitality
  3. Domestic or international trips
  4. Benefits received via an All-Party Parliamentary Group

I sign this pledge with a view to proceeding to uphold it to the best of my knowledge.

***Please only complete this form if you are a current MP or Peer, work for one or have written evidence from your MP that they want you to sign on their behalf. If you have any questions, please contact: info@fossilfreeparliament.uk***



Notes

  • MPs and Peers are being asked to sign this pledge as individuals, and not on behalf of the party they are affiliated with.
  • ‘The fossil fuel industry’ is defined as companies generating more than 10% of their revenue from the exploration, production, refining or processing of coal, oil and fossil gas.
  • ‘organisations representing fossil fuel industry interests’ may include lobbyists who are paid a fee to represent their interests or fossil fuel industry networks, pressure groups, or trade associations such as Offshore Energies UK (OEUK). We are working on drawing up a list of such organisations for ease of identification.
  • ‘to the best of my knowledge’ - we have added this disclaimer to allow for the possibility that an MP or Peer may unwittingly accept a benefit from the fossil fuel industry due to the endemic lack of transparency surrounding the industry and its lobbying efforts. Should this happen after the MP or Peer has signed this pledge, they will not be accused of entering into a conflict of interest. Instead, we ask that, once it has been revealed that the benefit is connected to fossil fuel industry interests, the MP or Peer finds a way to retrospectively reject the benefit and then takes the opportunity to publicly call out the industry for its veiled lobbying attempt.
  • Friends of the Earth (England, Wales and Northern Ireland) is an official ally of Fossil Free Parliament, and it is in that capacity that it is hosting the campaign's Action Network account. Friends of the Earth otherwise holds no responsibility for any of the actions of the Fossil Free Parliament campaign.