How to address fossil fuel production under the UNFCCC

The document asserts that meeting the Paris Agreement's goals of keeping warming "well below 2°C" requires a phase-down of coal, oil, and natural gas production. It identifies six primary mechanisms within the UNFCCC framework to achieve this: incorporating supply-side targets in Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), planning managed declines in long-term low greenhouse gas emission development strategies (LTSs), tracking extraction via the global stocktake, providing technical capacity-building support, redirecting finance away from fossil fuel infrastructure, and providing developed-country assistance to developing nations for economic transitions.

• The Paris Agreement currently omits mention of fossil fuels, which the authors suggest may have been an effort to be inclusive of all CO2 sources and accommodate fossil fuel producing nations, but this omission should not be permanent if temperature goals are to be met.
• Addressing fossil fuel supply through the UNFCCC is necessary to force concrete commitments, strengthen signals to financial markets, and normalize the transition away from extraction as a core part of climate policy.
• Most of the top ten fossil-fuel-producing nations do not focus on supply in their NDCs, instead discussing extraction in the context of economic diversification or improving industry efficiency.
• Countries can use NDCs and long-term low greenhouse gas emission development strategies (LTSs) to implement specific supply-side measures, such as production phase-down targets, moratoria on new infrastructure, and taxes on exports.
• The global stocktake, starting in 2023, could be used to track fossil fuel extraction to determine which reserves can be utilized while remaining consistent with 1.5°C or 2°C goals.
• Achieving the Paris Agreement's finance goals requires moving away from "brown" finance by removing fossil fuel subsidies and excluding fossil fuel infrastructure from climate finance eligibility.
• Developed countries should provide financial, technical, and expertise-based support to help developing nations transition their economies away from fossil fuel extraction, including through "just transitions" funds for worker retraining.

APA

Piggot, G., Erickson, P., Lazarus, M., & van Asselt, H. (2017). How to address fossil fuel production under the UNFCCC. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/sei-2017-pb-how-to-address-fossil-fuel-production1.pdf

Chicago

Piggot, Georgia, Peter Erickson, Michael Lazarus, and Harro van Asselt. How to address fossil fuel production under the UNFCCC. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2017. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/sei-2017-pb-how-to-address-fossil-fuel-production1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Piggot |first1=Georgia |last2=Erickson |first2=Peter |last3=Lazarus |first3=Michael |last4=van Asselt |first4=Harro |title=How to address fossil fuel production under the UNFCCC |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=2017 |url=https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/sei-2017-pb-how-to-address-fossil-fuel-production1.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{piggot2017how, author = {Piggot, Georgia and Erickson, Peter and Lazarus, Michael and van Asselt, Harro}, title = {{How to address fossil fuel production under the UNFCCC}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2017}, url = {https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/sei-2017-pb-how-to-address-fossil-fuel-production1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }