What is SAFE Cities?
SAFE (Standing Against Fossil Fuel Expansion) Cities is a movement of neighbors, local groups, and elected officials working to keep their communities SAFE from fossil fuels. The fossil fuel industry’s harmful practices and reckless plans for expansion threaten the well-being of communities and people around the world.
That’s why the SAFE Cities campaign is connecting local efforts to limit fossil fuels into a global call for action and supporting community leaders to adopt SAFE policies that phase out fossil fuels and fast track clean, more efficient energy solutions for all.
Fighting fossil fuel threats one at a time can feel like playing the world’s most exhausting and unfun game of whack-a-mole. One with no end in sight. If you’re in a community on the frontline of the fossil fuel industry you already know this well – no sooner have you defeated a massive coal terminal proposal then a tar sands pipeline pops up. Or you’re already fighting a refinery expansion or an oil-by- rail plan when industry comes again with plans to build a giant, explosive LNG facility. The SAFE Cities movement wants to end all that by blocking fossil fuel infrastructure projects before they’re even proposed – it’s time to stop playing defense, and go on the offensive.
Get involved with the SAFE Cities movement
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SAFE Policies
SAFE policies are being championed by local government leaders and advocates who are committed to climate action and protecting public health and safety from the risks of fossil fuels. They can include opposing new fossil fuel infrastructure, affirming a commitment to the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement and endorsing the complementary Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty to phase out fossil fuel production and accelerate a just energy transition, committing to energy efficiency, committing to a future of electrification and renewable energy, and/or developing financial strategies to ensure that no one’s left behind. As a first step, local governments can pass resolutions that describe their intent to pass SAFE policies, explore fair financing structures, and propose policies to help them reach their climate action goals.
The three categories of SAFE policies
Local government resolutions
Non-binding resolutions and Action Plans that explicitly call for the phase out of fossil fuel infrastructure or endorse the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Protection from fossil fuel infrastructure
Policies that block or severely restrict the expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure such as refineries, pipelines, storage terminals, and gas stations.
Electrification of buildings and transport
Policies that phase out fossil fuels by requiring new buildings or vehicles to be all-electric. This can also include policies to get fossil fuels out of existing buildings.
Our Impact
135+
CitiesThere are SAFE Cities on five continents with more local jurisdictions joining every week.
17
CountriesSAFE Cities is spreading around the globe as local jurisdictions work to combat the climate crisis and protect their communities from fossil fuels.
164+
Policies PassedFossil fuels threaten communities in many different ways, and some SAFE Cities pass multiple policies in order to protect their residents.
82,706,755
People covered by SAFE policiesThe impact of SAFE Cities is constantly growing, both in terms of greenhouse gas emissions reduced and in term of how many people are protected from dangerous fossil fuel pollutants.
