His Excellency President Dr Irfaan Ali asserted that the energy transition must balance rising demand and energy poverty with climate goals.
In his remarks at a roundtable discussion on energy transition at COP 30 in Brazil today, he urged a move beyond slogans to practical solutions grounded in science, economics, and fairness.
He proposed a two-track approach: invest in the energy of the future while fairly managing the decline of today’s fossil fuels.
To make clean power viable in developing countries, he called for transition finance facilities, guarantees, concessional instruments, and for technology access to be treated as a global priority.
He urged: “A new transition must phase out the highest carbon, least efficient, and most expensive oil first, while allowing low carbon, responsibly managed production to meet declining demand as a new system is built.”
He also pressed for global rules: a carbon price reflecting real costs, removal of fossil fuel subsidies, competition based on carbon intensity, and a broad, balanced coalition to deliver a just, predictable transition.
“We cannot get there by extreme positions; we have to get there through a balanced approach. Let us bring all the stakeholders around the table. Let us allow a situation where we all win through a just programme, a fair programme, and a rules based system.”
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of the Parties (COP) 30 is being held in Belém, Brazil.