Some government officials from Europe, Africa, South America, and Oceania who are devoted to combating climate change are calling for the end of the fossil fuel era and the transition to a clean energy world.

Austria, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, Ethiopia, the European Commission, the Federated States of Micronesia, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Palau, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Senegal, Spain, and the Republic of Vanuatu issued the statement.

Eamon Ryan, Ireland's Minister for Environment, Climate, and Communications, is one of them. Rob Jetten, the Dutch Minister of Climate and Energy Policy, Climate Change Minister James Shaw of New Zealand, Agriculture, Fisheries, and Environment Minister Steven Victor of Palau, and Natural Resources and Commerce Minister John Silk of the Republic of the Marshall Islands.

Toeolesulusulu Cedric P S Schuster, Samoa Minister for Natural Resources and Environment and Samoa Tourism Authority, Mr Alioune Ndoye, Senegal Minister for the Environment, Sustainable Development, and Ecological Transition, Teresa Ribera, Spain Minister for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge, and Ralph Regenvanu, Republic of Vanuatu Minister for Climate Change Adaptation, Meteorology, Geo-Hazards, Environment, Energy, and National Disaster Management Office.

They emphasize the necessity of reducing global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius and avoiding the disastrous repercussions of surpassing this limit. Officials believe that greenhouse gas emissions must be reduced to zero by 2050, if not sooner. They also advocate for a rapid shift away from fossil fuels and a considerable reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.

“We must accelerate the global energy transition away from fossil fuels. We must peak greenhouse gas emissions by 2025 at the latest and reduce them by 43% by 2030 compared to 2019 levels. This requires systemic transformations across all sectors, driven by an urgent phase out from fossil fuels, starting with a rapid decline of fossil fuel production and use within this decade.

"Abatement technologies must not be used to green-light continued fossil fuel expansion, but must be considered in the context of steps to phase out fossil fuel use, and should be recognised as having a minimal role to play in decarbonization of the energy sector. The restoration and protection of carbon sinks should be a top priority. We must set and meet ambitious targets for renewable energy production and energy efficiency around the world within this decade, while ensuring that this transition is equitable, and does not leave behind the millions without energy access worldwide,” the statement said.

The statement emphasizes the need for systemic reforms across all sectors, with an emphasis on replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy and energy efficiency. The officials push for worldwide efforts to ensure equitable transition to energy access for all. They also emphasize the value of financial assistance for adaptation and mitigation efforts in underdeveloped countries.

“Loss and damage caused by the climate crisis is getting worse every day, and it will continue to worsen at a faster pace as tipping points are reached. We support the operationalization of loss and damage funding arrangements, and a fund for responding to loss and damage, and commit to working together to alleviate the burdens faced by developing countries that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change.”

“Achieving ambitious results on climate ambition must be backed up by strong results and commitments on climate finance. We stress the importance of achieving the $100 billion per year goal, scaling up the deployment of innovative financing strategies and mechanisms, agreeing on a new collective quantified goal, which has to be based on the best available science and take into account needs and priorities of developing countries. We must secure financial system reforms to increase green investment, and the alignment of financial flows with a resilient future within the 1.5°C temperature limit.”

The officials affirm their commitment to collaborating to accomplish these objectives and ask for a strong and ambitious outcome at COP-28, a global climate conference. They underline the significance of financial changes and investment alignment with climate goals. The message continues by urging others to join them in the fight against climate change.

“We are committed to working with the incoming COP Presidency and all stakeholders to deliver an ambitious COP28. The Global Stocktake must be a turning point. It must include a strong and detailed forward-looking delivery plan, with concrete recommendations that trigger countries’ domestic processes in following up with ambitious and robust action to close the ambition and implementation gaps across the spectrum of climate action in this critical decade and beyond.

The science is clear, and we know that the solutions are there. We invite others to join us in this effort.”