Now for the real work to ensure a fossil fuel phaseout

The document critiques the COP28 final declaration for lacking a commitment to a 'fossil fuel phaseout' and for being lenient on coal and gas. It argues that developed countries, particularly France and the UK, must stop their financial institutions from enabling fossil fuel expansion and instead provide concessional finance and de-risking mechanisms to help developing countries transition to renewables and energy efficiency.

• The COP28 final declaration focuses on "transitioning away from fossil fuels" rather than a definitive "fossil fuel phaseout," which shifts the focus toward the methods of achievement, including financing and technology development.
• The author warns that the COP28 text is too lenient on coal and allows for the continued development of gas and unproven technologies like Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), which may delay the exit from fossil fuels.
• The French-led Coal Transition Accelerator is criticized for potentially allowing the conversion of coal power stations to gas or ammonia, which would lock in emissions incompatible with a 1.5°C trajectory.
• Developed nations, including the EU, US, and Canada, must provide concessional finance to developing countries to retire fossil fuel infrastructure and accelerate the deployment of renewables and energy efficiency.
• Private sector financing must constitute more than 80% of the financial flows from developed to developing countries for the transition, according to the IEA.
• Financial institutions in countries like France and the UK continue to enable fossil fuel expansion; the author argues that banks benefiting from public subsidies for the transition must commit to ending their financing of fossil fuel developers.

APA

Martin, L. (2023). Now for the real work to ensure a fossil fuel phaseout. Reclaim Finance. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/en/2023/12/13/now-for-the-real-work-to-ensure-a-fossil-fuel-phaseout/

Chicago

Martin, Léo. Now for the real work to ensure a fossil fuel phaseout. Reclaim Finance, 2023. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/en/2023/12/13/now-for-the-real-work-to-ensure-a-fossil-fuel-phaseout/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Martin |first1=Léo |title=Now for the real work to ensure a fossil fuel phaseout |publisher=Reclaim Finance |date=13 December 2023 |url=https://reclaimfinance.org/site/en/2023/12/13/now-for-the-real-work-to-ensure-a-fossil-fuel-phaseout/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{martin2023now, author = {Martin, Léo}, title = {{Now for the real work to ensure a fossil fuel phaseout}}, publisher = {Reclaim Finance}, year = {2023}, month = dec, url = {https://reclaimfinance.org/site/en/2023/12/13/now-for-the-real-work-to-ensure-a-fossil-fuel-phaseout/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }