One in every four people on Earth including 520 million children lives dangerously close to fossil fuel infrastructure, exposing them to serious health and environmental risks, according to a new global study unveiled on the sidelines of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) in Belem, Brazil.
The report titled Extraction Extinction was jointly published by Amnesty International and the Better Planet Laboratory (BPL) at the University of Colorado Boulder. It warns that fossil fuel operations threaten the health, rights, and livelihoods of at least 2 billion people worldwide and underscores the urgent need for a global roadmap to phase out fossil fuels by 2050.
“Proximity to coal, oil, and gas infrastructure has been proven to elevate risks of cancer, cardiovascular illness, and adverse reproductive outcomes,” the report notes. “The full lifecycle of fossil fuels destroys irreplaceable ecosystems and undermines human rights.”
Mapping the human cost
Using global datasets, satellite imagery, and population mapping, the study estimates that over 18,000 operating fossil fuel sites across 170 countries put billions of people at risk. Alarmingly, at least 463 million individuals live within just one kilometer of these facilities where exposure to pollution is most severe.
Indigenous communities are particularly vulnerable, with 16 percent of all fossil fuel sites located on their territories. Moreover, nearly one-third of these facilities overlap with critical ecosystems such as forests, wetlands, and coral reefs.
“The fossil fuel industry is expanding into our most fragile environments. This is a direct contradiction of global climate commitments,” said Ginni Braich, a senior data scientist at BPL and lead author of the study.
The report warns that over 3,500 new fossil fuel projects are currently proposed or under construction, potentially placing an additional 135 million people at risk. China and India are identified as major expansion zones for new coal plants and mines.
A growing call for a Fossil Fuel Treaty
Amnesty International and global activists are now pushing for the urgent adoption of an international Fossil Fuel Treaty a legally binding agreement to halt new fossil fuel developments and ensure a just transition to clean energy.
“The fossil fuel industry continues to sacrifice communities, human rights, and ecosystems across the globe,” said Tzeporah Berman, Chair of the Fossil Fuel Treaty Initiative. “We cannot negotiate with extinction. It’s time for states to act in line with international law and the ICJ ruling to protect the planet.”
Amnesty International’s Secretary General, Agnès Callamard, echoed the call: “States should embark on a full, fast, fair, and funded phase-out of fossil fuels. The age of fossil fuels must end now.”
The study’s release at COP30 adds urgency to the ongoing climate negotiations in Belem, where global leaders face mounting pressure to finalize commitments on fossil fuel phase-out, just transition frameworks, and finance for vulnerable nations.
With billions living near the frontlines of extraction zones, experts warn that every year of delay deepens both the climate and human rights crises making a fossil-free future not just a climate goal, but a humanitarian necessity.