FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, 1 December, 2023
CONTACT: Gabrielle Levy, glevy@climatenexus.org
Ashwini Prabha, ashwini@ggon.org
NEWS: 106 Countries Call for Fossil Fuel Phaseout
Countries from Africa and the Caribbean joined the EU and Pacific States in a show of growing momentum for the end of fossil fuels.
DUBAI–Momentum supporting the phaseout of fossil fuels is growing, as more than 100 states from Africa, the Caribbean, Pacific Islands, and the European Union reaffirmed the call for the need to rapidly reduce fossil fuels in a joint statement released Thursday night, ahead of the World Climate Action Summit at COP28 on Friday and Saturday.
“The shift towards a climate neutral economy, in line with the 1.5ºC goal, will require the global phase out of unabated fossil fuels and a peak in their consumption already in this decade,” the joint statement from the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States and the European Union said.
The large number of countries involved – 106 – demonstrates that the global movement to move decisively away from fossil fuels is growing stronger. At COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, more than 80 countries spoke on their support for fossil fuel phasedown.
The statement also supported the targets calling for the tripling of renewable energy to 11 terawatts and doubling energy, by 2030, and called for energy targets to be part of the negotiated COP28 outcome.
And it highlighted the need to “enhance cooperation including through capacity building, technical and financial assistance from all sources, to address the challenges and secure the benefits, including in terms of energy access and security of a just transition.”
The statement is a major signal to the world that fossil fuels have no future in the world economy, especially from some nations who have relied on fossil fuel resources for their development goals. Yet leaders must strengthen their call to avoid dangerous distractions, such as carbon capture and storage (CCS) and hydrogen from gas, which will lock in fossil fuels for decades to come.
“The position statement by our leaders has been a long overdue and positive step in the right direction,” Lorraine Chiponda, Co-Facilitator Don't Gas Africa. “However, moving towards 100% renewables systems can only happen in parallel to a just and equitable phase-out of ALL fossil fuels and without including glaring loopholes like the phrase ‘unabated’ which allows a multitude of dangerous distractions such as carbon capture and storage.”
Further, the statement’s call for unabated fossil fuels to peak this decade fails to recognize that oil, gas and coal usage is already on that track. Instead, countries should demand the phaseout occur even faster in order to protect the health and safety of vulnerable communities around the world.
An accelerated just transition away from fossil fuel production and use is essential to have any hope of delivering on the promises of the Paris Agreement to limit warming to 1.5°C. Governments must do everything within their power to take bolder action to limit dangerous global temperature below 1.5°C . They must:
- STOP all new oil & gas production and infrastructure projects
- PHASE OUT all fossil fuels: establish clear end dates for all fossil fuel production, ensuring a fast, fair and equitable transition
- DOUBLE the pace of energy efficiency by 2030 (from 2020 levels)
- TRIPLE renewable energy capacity by 2030: by deploying at least 1,500 GW of new renewable energy capacity each year by 2030 and beyond.
- DELIVER TRILLIONS of dollars of sustainable financing for rapid, just and equitable transition to 100% RE systems and adaptation in developing countries.
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