Countries have been urged to start planning now for the 'urgent, inevitable' – yet voluntary – phaseout of coal, oil and gas.
Brazil has released the world's first global roadmap for phasing out fossil fuels. The voluntary plan was the final item on the agenda for last year's UN COP climate summit host before the torch passes to Türkiye and Australia next week.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
The COP30 conference in the Amazon city of Belem in 2025 ended with a final agreement that failed to explicitly mention fossil fuels after fierce opposition from major oil producers such as Saudi Arabia and Russia.
As an alternative, the Brazilian hosts offered to launch a roadmap for countries to shift away from oil, gas and coal on a voluntary basis.
"Taken together, the evidence and analysis in this Roadmap lead the COP30 Presidency to a clear conclusion that transitioning away from fossil fuels is urgent, inevitable and yet possible," the text released on 3 November said.
The document, however, acknowledged that "there is no unique solution for this complex puzzle" and suggested that countries tailor measures suited to their circumstances.
Brazil also published a roadmap on halting deforestation by 2030.
'The transition is inevitable, so start planning now'
The roadmap proposes a "collective agenda" in three phases, from 2028 to 2033, during which countries should draw up plans and transform their energy systems.
"Countries differ in how fast they can move and in the support they need, but every country gains from immediately planning its transition away from fossil fuels," the document said.
Nearly 200 nations adopted a landmark text at the COP28 summit in Dubai in 2023 that called for "transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems".
"The transition is inevitable, so start planning now and as soon as possible, because this will be good for your country, for your society, for your economy," COP30 chief executive Ana Toni said in a media briefing.
But current policies and plans that have been announced so far "still leave the world short of the energy outcomes agreed in Dubai", the COP30 presidency document said.
Are fossil fuels on the COP31 agenda?
A new agreement on fossil fuels is unlikely at the two-week COP31 conference, which begins on Monday 9 November in Turkish Mediterranean resort Antalya.
Instead, COP31 president Türkiye, and Australia, which is steering the negotiations, are championing a voluntary programme aimed at boosting "electrification" in efforts to cut heat-trapping emissions.
But critics have warned that the text fails to specify the energy source, meaning electrification could be used as a guise for fossil fuel expansion rather than being powered by clean renewables.
While Toni said the fossil fuel roadmap would be discussed in Antalya on 10 November, Brazilian officials stressed that their initiative was a call to action, not a document to be negotiated at COP31.
"We are not suggesting negotiations," COP30 president Andre Correa do Lago said.
"Everyone can start to act now," he said, noting that the knowledge and technology are already available. "The agreements already exist. What's important is to implement them."
Climate campaigners welcomed the Brazilian initiatives.
"The roadmap must not end up as just another report gathering dust on a shelf," said Fanny Petitbon, a policy analyst at grassroots climate organisation 350.org.
"COP31 must be the moment when governments take this work forward, with clear commitments, timelines and the resources to deliver a fair and orderly exit from coal, oil and gas," Petitbon said.
