FIRST MOVER
Fossil fuel roadmaps differ to national pledges to reduce emissions or “net zero” plans because they have an explicit end goal, said Leo Roberts, an energy analyst at the E3G think tank.
The French roadmap “self describes itself as a document that sets out of a pathway for a country to transition the whole economy away from fossil fuels,” Roberts told AFP in Santa Marta.
“In that sense, it is the first of its kind.”
Faraco said France decided to push ahead on its own after a proposal for a global fossil fuel roadmap was blocked at the COP30 climate summit in November.
Brazil, which was steering the climate negotiations, agreed to pursue a voluntary roadmap process instead and has asked willing countries to make submissions.
Frustration at COP30 led to the creation of the Santa Marta conference, which is taking place outside the UN process and is being co-hosted by Colombia and the Netherlands.
Nearly 60 nations are attending, from the European Union and major fossil fuel producers Canada and Norway, to developing oil giants Angola and Nigeria and small island developing states like Tuvalu.
Nations are not expected to produce any binding commitments but a set of proposals for countries wanting to move their own economies away from fossil fuel reliance.
The conference takes place against a backdrop of soaring fuel prices and a global supply crunch stemming from the Iran war, and energy security has been a prominent theme.