By Rochelle Baker, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter CANADAB次元官网网址橲 NATIONAL OBSERVER

One of CanadaB次元官网网址檚 most prominent environmental crusaders is being named among TIMEB次元官网网址檚 Top 100 most influential climate leaders worldwide.

Tzeporah Berman, a Vancouver-based activist and policy advocate, is at the forefront of climate action nationally and internationally.

Her latest brainchild, the Fossil fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, aims to check the expansion and end fossil fuels use and transition equitably away from coal, oil and gas in favour of clean energy to save the planet and people.

The treatyB次元官网网址檚 network is growing and enjoys the backing of 14 nations, more than 100 cities or regional governments, thousands of civil and environmental groups, Indigenous communities and international bodies such as the World Health Organization and the Vatican B次元官网网址� and nearly a million individual global citizens, including Nobel Peace Prize winners and most recently former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon.

The response to the international treaty, not dissimilar from successful global agreements to reduce the use of destructive nuclear weapons or landmines, has been tremendous, said Berman.

B次元官网网址淚 think in 30 years of advocacy, IB次元官网网址檝e never done work that feels this meaningful and exciting,B次元官网网址� Berman said, who is the treatyB次元官网网址檚 chair and international program director at Stand.Earth.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 exciting every day open the computer and see whatB次元官网网址檚 happening, whoB次元官网网址檚 endorsed, whoB次元官网网址檚 come on board, and what countries are considering.B次元官网网址�

TIMEB次元官网网址檚 recognition for her work, and in conjunction, the efforts of everyone else striving to stop the burning of fossil fuels superheating the planet is both an honour and a daunting responsibility, Berman said.

B次元官网网址淭he task in front of us is significant, and itB次元官网网址檚 getting more difficult every day, she said.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 hard not to see the clock ticking and to get more anxious as every day goes by.B次元官网网址�

TIME is unveiling its list of climate leaders as the annual United Climate Change conference, COP29, takes place in Baku, Azerbaijan until Nov. 22. The periodical is also hosting an event to gather the named leaders at the climate summit.

Berman said she intends to use the recognition from TIME B次元官网网址� and the event celebrating it B次元官网网址� as a platform to showcase the fossil fuel treaty and strategize about accelerating the transition to renewable sources of clean energy such as solar, wind, and hydro power.

The stakes for accelerating climate progress at the international summit have never been higher, Berman stressed.

The conference takes place against the backdrop of climate catastrophes such as the deadly and destructive flooding in Valencia, Spain. Meanwhile 2024 is on track to be the hottest year on record as global warming caused by humansB次元官网网址� carbon pollution continues to mount, and Donald Trump, an avowed cheerleader for the oil and gas industry and noted climate denier, has just been elected again to lead the largest economy in the world.

Days before attending the climate summit, Berman found herself speaking to BBC International about the B次元官网网址渁bsolute betrayalB次元官网网址� after it was revealed the host stateB次元官网网址檚 top official hoped to help cut new fossil fuel deals at COP29.

However, itB次元官网网址檚 a luxury and privilege, especially by richer nations, to fall prey to the sin of despair, Berman said.

B次元官网网址淚 work with Pacific Island governments where despair is not an option,B次元官网网址� she said.

B次元官网网址淭hey are already having to move people. TheyB次元官网网址檙e moving graves and schools because theyB次元官网网址檙e underwater. They are fighting for their lives.B次元官网网址�

Hope is a responsibility, especially as a parent, and taking action is curative as itB次元官网网址檚 not a zero- sum game, Berman stressed.

B次元官网网址淓very ton of carbon that we save from building up in the atmosphere today will save lives.B次元官网网址�

BermanB次元官网网址檚 tenacity and grit paired with her strategic thinking, storytelling abilities, and willingness to confront climate denialism make her an ideal candidate for recognition by TIME Magazine, say friends and climate colleagues.

Her colleague, Seth Klein, also a mainstay and author prominent in Canadian climate circles, watched Berman evolve and adapt to become an increasingly innovative and effective leader over the three decades since they met while cutting their teeth as student activists at the University of Toronto.

BermanB次元官网网址檚 role as a consequential figure in the environmental movement crystallised during the yearsB次元官网网址� long B次元官网网址淲ar of the WoodsB次元官网网址� on CanadaB次元官网网址檚 West Coast in the early 90s, Klein said. At the time a Greenpeace organizer, Berman became the spokesperson for the protracted logging blockades to protect ancient forests in Clayoquot Sound which drew media attention worldwide.

B次元官网网址淪he has a willingness to be a lightning rod in very fraught moments,B次元官网网址� Klein said.

B次元官网网址淪he got a lot of admiration, but she was also the target of a lot of vitriol.B次元官网网址�

Berman soon pivoted from blockades to boardrooms, making the shift from civil disobedience to negotiating with CEOs after founding ForestEthics (now Stand.Earth), which wages creative campaigns to get global corporations to improve their environmental practices. She also started to tackle the issue of global warming, putting the oil and gas industry in the crosshairs, particularly the Alberta oilsands before going on to help shape provincial climate policy in B.C. and Alberta.

Linda Solomon Wood, founder and publisher of CanadaB次元官网网址檚 National Observer, said relentless energy and vision are hallmarks of BermanB次元官网网址檚 advocacy work, which has shifted conversations around forestry, fossil fuels and climate policy.

The two women met raising their children on Cortes Island, part of a remote archipelago sandwiched between Vancouver Island and the B.C. mainland. However, BermanB次元官网网址檚 campaign targeting lingerie giant VictoriaB次元官网网址檚 Secret for printing catalogues on paper derived from ancient forests drew SolomonB次元官网网址檚 attention while she was still residing in New York.

B次元官网网址淚 think she got a billboard in Times Square, with a lookalike VictoriaB次元官网网址檚 Secret model holding a chainsaw,B次元官网网址� Solomon Wood recalls.

Soon after, the company was working with Berman to determine how to create a catalogue without cutting down old growth forests to forestall sales losses.

B次元官网网址淚 just thought this woman is brilliant and that, damn, she got things done,B次元官网网址� Solomon Wood said, adding CanadaB次元官网网址檚 National Observer has a podcast profiling BermanB次元官网网址檚 influence in the works with the working title, B次元官网网址淕reen Fire.B次元官网网址�

The Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty is visionary and heartening, allowing thousands of people to work towards systemic change for a healthy planet, Solomon Wood said.

The treatyB次元官网网址檚 strength is that Berman has rejected the status quo approach of incremental progress that has monumentally failed to address the scale and severity of the climate crisis in favour of a transformational policy, Klein added.

ItB次元官网网址檚 the B次元官网网址渕issing pieceB次元官网网址� in the puzzle in climate policy that provides a framework for countries to reduce fossil fuel collectively instead of leaving individual nationsB次元官网网址� emissions reductions to be undermined by continued oil and gas production elsewhere.

BermanB次元官网网址檚 oil and gas industry benefits and encourages a misplaced focus on emissions reductions, which is tinkering on the edges of a system that continues to allow the expansion of fossil fuels.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 ultimately absurd. What we build today will be used tomorrow,B次元官网网址� Berman noted.

TIME MagazineB次元官网网址檚 recognition is really an acknowledgement of a movement of people, groups and nations struggling to address the climate crisis, she said.

SheB次元官网网址檚 proud to have played a role in addressing the B次元官网网址済lobal groupthinkB次元官网网址� on climate change that saw reducing fossil fuel emissions as a solution rather than phasing out oil and gas production.

B次元官网网址淚 feel really honoured to bring a solution like the fossil fuel treaty to centre stage at COP29, so all of those leaders and communities arenB次元官网网址檛 fighting alone, project by project anymore.B次元官网网址�