A new economic superpower could spark a global retreat from fossil fuels

Original article can be found on The Guardian by Mark Hertsgaard and Kyle Pope.

Later this month, 85 countries (with a combined GDP of $32 Trillion+, larger than China or the US) will be meeting at the First International Conference of "Just Transition Away from Fossil Fuels". This coalition primarily serves as a counter-action to the vetoing of roadmaps to phase out fossil fuels, led of course by Saudi Arabia and other petrostates.

California ($4 Trillion+ GDP) is rumored to be a likely addition to the coalition as well, with Governor Newsom having showed strong interest in both sustainability leadership and climate action on a greater scale. 

Interestingly enough, this is all co-sponsored by Colombia (the world’s fifth-largest coal exporter) and the Netherlands (Royal Dutch Shell one of the world’s biggest oil companies). 

An important piece in case you choose not to click: "Critically, the First International Conference on the Just Transition Away from Fossil Fuels will not be governed by UN rules, which require consensus, but by majority rule, thus preventing a handful of countries from sabotaging progress as petrostates did at Cop30."

"The conference aims to begin drawing up the roadmap blocked at Cop30. Energy and environment ministers of governments comprising a “coalition of the willing” will share plans to transition their economies away from oil, gas and coal without leaving workers and communities behind."

Amidst the evisceration of the National Forest Service and an impending oil crisis, this is some good news.