There is an emerging consensus on the need to “transition away from fossil fuels”, as highlighted in the historic agreement by countries at COP28 . This transition is driven not only by a desire to tackle the climate crisis, but also by concerns around the geopolitical risks, economic costs, and health and environmental impacts of continued oil and gas dependency. Additionally, clean energy markets present growing economic opportunities. How to navigate this path in a just, orderly, and equitable manner remains a challenge as countries seek to manage trade-offs and balance short-and long-term objectives.
The “Policy Dialogue for Just Energy Transitions: Identifying Pathways to Prosperity Post Fossil Fuels” was held from September 8 to 12, 2024 in Salzburg, Austria. This programme brought together policymakers, decisionmakers, and leading researchers from ten oil and gas producing countries as well as representatives from international organizations. They shared evidence-based approaches to the transition from fossil fuel dependent economies to inclusive, equitable, and sustainable systems.
During the programme, participants discussed the key challenges and dilemmas of enacting a just energy transition process in their countries, such as aligning economic development with climate mitigation, considering energy versus economic diversification, energy inefficiency, and the consequences of differentiated national pathways. They also explored possible solutions and windows of opportunity to achieve prosperity post fossil fuels; these include potential diversification options, the role of tax measures and enabling policy environments in financing the transition, international collaboration and partnerships, novel or adapted indicators to measure just transitions, as well as broad stakeholder engagement and participation. Although strong similarities exist between oil and gas producing countries, there are also key differences that influence the appropriate domestic transition pathway.
More information on these key findings and how they apply to specific country contexts can be found in the international briefing as well as in the five in-country briefings produced by national researchers for Azerbaijan, Brazil, Ghana, Nigeria, and Trinidad and Tobago. The in-country briefings highlight the context-specific dilemmas and opportunities and provide actionable policy recommendations to support progress on a domestic just energy transition. You can access the findings below: