As the UN Global Climate Talks Lose Momentum, a Smaller Coalition Eyes a Fossil Fuel Exit

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By Bob Berwyn, Inside Climate News. 

Excerpt: ...more than 50 nations are gathering in Santa Marta, Colombia, today to start mapping out specific plans to phase out fossil fuels, going beyond the conditional global consensus on “transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems” reached at COP28 in Dubai. A lack of progress toward that goal spurred Colombia and the Netherlands to build a coalition of countries willing to move faster and farther. Attending countries span a spectrum from influential fossil fuel producers like Australia, Norway, Brazil, Nigeria and Mexico to climate-vulnerable island nations including Fiji, Tuvalu and the Maldives, as well as Denmark, Spain and France and the European Union. Notably absent are the United States, Russia, China and major Gulf petrostates such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Offering a perspective from The Elders, a group of former independent world leaders that acts as a moral and ethical voice on issues of peace, justice and climate, former President of Ireland Mary Robinson described the conference as “a new multilateral space for a committee of doers … those who want to collaborate and usher out fossil fuels. ...It’s such a serious moment,” she said. “The United States and Israel have waged an illegal war against Iran and the consequences have been felt worldwide.” ...the erosion of international law and the global economic impacts caused by the Iran war shows why a just transition into renewables is now “a security imperative.” ...Instead of trying to drag every reluctant petro‑state along at once, Colombia and the Netherlands are hoping to build a modular coalition of countries to develop practical timetables and mechanisms for protecting people, communities and ecosystems while electrifying transport and industry and boosting conservation and efficiency to displace fossil fuels. She said Spain, with plenty of solar and windpower, has been able to keep power prices lower than in countries still more dependent on fossil fuels, adding that the people-led solar revolution in Pakistan has already helped the country avoid more than $12 billion in fossil fuel imports.... 

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