Event Organized by CEFD and COP30 Presidency at NY Climate Week Addresses Economic Challenges of the Energy Transition
During New York Climate Week, the Center for Energy, Finance and Development (CEFD), in partnership with the Brazilian COP30 Presidency team, organized the roundtable “Economic Challenges of the Transition Away from Fossil Fuels.” The event brought together global experts to discuss strategies and solutions for a just and economically sustainable transition.
Ana Toni, National Secretary for Climate Change at Brazil’s Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change and Director of the COP30 team, opened and closed the meeting, emphasizing the urgency of placing the fossil fuel transition agenda at the center of climate negotiations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
The event was structured around two high-level panels. The first panel, focused on the transition within the global energy context, analyzed current oil and gas market trends and discussed solutions to coordinate the international phase-down of fossil fuels. The discussion was moderated by João Marcos Paes Leme of Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and featured valuable contributions from:
- Greg Muttitt, Associate Director at the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD);
- Clarissa Lins, Co-founder of Catavento Consultoria;
- Lahra Liberti, Head of the Natural Resources for Development Division at the OECD.
The second panel addressed economic diversification in a post-fossil fuel world and was moderated by Nicolas Lippolis, Executive Director of CEFD. The discussion explored ways to mobilize resources to promote low-carbon industries, considering the challenges of fiscal, trade, and labor market dependence on fossil fuels. Participants included:
- Ana Carolina Gonzalez, Research Director at the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI);
- Diego Mesa, former Minister of Mines and Energy of Colombia;
- Omotenioye Majekodunmi, Nigeria’s National Council on Climate Change;
- Sîan Bradley, Senior Associate at E3G – Third Generation Environmentalism.
At the conclusion of the panels, participants engaged in a rich dialogue on the principles and policies needed — at the national, bilateral, and multilateral levels — to advance solutions to these complex challenges.
