The last major UN climate conference (COP30 in Brazil) ended without a decisive agreement on phasing out coal, oil and gas, but there were many positive developments, including commitments to boost financing for climate action, provide money for adaptation and fight climate misinformation.
The issue of the transition to a low-carbon global economy proved much thornier (as it has been at all COPs) with many countries and civil society groups expressing frustration at the lack of consensus on the issue.
That frustration has been channeled into Transition away from fossil fuels (TAFF), in Santa Marta, Colombia, which ends on Wednesday.
Described as a “coalition of the willing,” TAFF is believed to be the first international diplomatic meeting explicitly focused on the practicalities of moving beyond fuels with finite carbon emissions toward renewable energy sources.
More than 53 nations, across all regions and levels of development, from both fossil fuel producing and consuming nations, joined with representatives from academia, the private sector and civil society groups, to chart an ambitious path towards sustainable societies and economies.
Selwin Hart at the Transition away from fossil fuels conference, Santa Marta, Colombia.
New imperative
Although TAFF is not organized by the UN, senior officials from the organization were invited to attend, including Selwin Hart, Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Climate Action and Just Transition, who said the current global energy crisis, sparked by the Iran conflict, has exposed the extent to which “to The global fossil fuel-based energy system is inherently unstable, volatile and unreliable..”
Addressing the conference on Tuesday, Mr Hart noted that three in four people live in countries that are net importers of fossil fuels, making them vulnerable to shocks they did not create and cannot control. Ending that dependency, he said, is “a security imperative, an economic imperative and a development imperative.”
Renewable energies such as wind and solar, on the other hand, offer stability, sovereignty and control over one’s own energy future and represent the fastest and most cost-effective path to universal energy access. in a world where almost 800 million people lack access to electricity.
Power-generating windmills line the hills of Quang Tri Province, Vietnam.
There is no turning back
“There are no embargoes, price increases, tariffs or tolls on wind or sunlight, he said.
Hart warned that political and economic forces opposed to the transition are actively working to delay and undermine the process, casting doubt on the science, distorting economics, and undermining the integrity of climate information to protect the status quo and fossil fuel interests.
the main advisor He requested an event in Santa Marta to mark the beginning of a new cooperation model and send a message that “the direction of travel is irreversible and that this transition will be managed with purpose, partnership and urgency.”
An economic turning point
That sense of urgency, unparalleled in climate discussions, is tangible in Santa Marta, according to Martin Krause, Director of the Climate Change Division of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).
Krause, who participated in the conference, attributes this sense of momentum to the intensely volatile nature of energy markets and the real-world impact they are having. He believes it could mark a turning point for the large-scale adoption of renewable energy.
“We have seen in recent years that renewable energy, especially solar and wind, is competitive in many markets and is often cheaper than most fossil fuel-based alternatives. Therefore, we are seeing a very strong movement towards electrification in entire economic sectors.”
Market driven
The market, Krause says, is already moving, despite the perceived slowness of progress in official climate negotiations, and citizens are paying attention. In some markets and countries the transition “is He is no longer guided by politics. It is being driven by the market..
People now feel the difference at the gas stations, but the crisis is also putting inflationary pressure on the prices of food and many consumer products, because many things depend on the price of oil and gas.”
Some particularly hard-hit countries, Krause says, “can barely afford to keep the air conditioning running or the lights on, because they are so dependent on imported fossil fuels. They are realizing that this is not a long-term solution for their economy.”
