Presentation
This Issue Brief analyzes the six dimensions of implementing equitable transitions away from fossil fuels (ETAFFs) at country level, based on a literature review of barriers and enablers, and proposes a list of non-exhaustive policy questions aimed to guide country-level submissions during the GST2’s information collection phase and technical assessment, which will start at COP31.
Key Messages
- The information collection phase of GST2 can play an important role in shaping the final outcome of GST and informing in-country implementation and national policies, through three main objectives: i) filling in knowledge gaps; ii) breaking down the challenge in manageable pieces; iii) highlighting the diversity of national realities and country needs to inform international cooperation. Identifying and collecting country-level information on ETAFFs is critical to achieve all three objectives.
- The following 6 dimensions have been identified as a starting point for countries to gather such information: i) technical constraints to structural transformation; ii) financing renewables and structural transformations reducing fossil fuels demand; iii) macroeconomic and fiscal dependence on fossil fuels; iv) socio-economic aspects and employment; v) governance; and vi) public participation and demand for the transition.
- Countries can package this information in different ways, including in a national TAFF roadmap or other relevant domestic planning documents, such as long-term low emissions development strategies (LT-LEDS), which embed the phase-down of fossil fuels in line with net-zero commitments, and therefore represent in several countries an institutionalized process that triggers national conversations and evidence development with stakeholders around some of the policy questions identified in this Brief. Parties can use these processes and the associated submission to provide specific country-level information for GST2 consideration.
- To compile country-level submissions on ETAFFs to support the GST2 technical assessment, clear organizing principles are necessary, so that they can eventually translate into meaningful global signals. Framing information around barriers and enablers can provide a useful structure for identifying the conditions that constrain or facilitate countries’ transitions and inform international cooperation. The COP30 Presidency Global TAFF Roadmap provides a valuable basis for organizing this evidence and, ultimately, ensuring that GST2 supports not only an assessment of progress and forward-looking signals, but also the implementation of ETAFFs.
