New America Foundation

11/04/2024 | News release | Distributed by Public on 11/04/2024 15:31

Climate and Energy Transitions

Nov. 4, 2024

Overview

The Planetary Politics Initiative at New America hosted a policy salon dinner on climate and energy transitions on September 25, 2024, during Climate Week and the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, immediately following the Summit of the Future. The event brought together distinguished policymakers, academics, civil society representatives, and business leaders to explore solutions to the pressing climate and energy challenges.

Two guest speakers and New America's CEO Anne-Marie Slaughter opened the session by sharing their perspectives on the global governance challenges surrounding climate and the energy transition. The discussion focused on the deeply entrenched systems that complicate policy shifts and the need for justice-centered approaches to address these issues. The evening's dialogue highlighted the urgency of tackling the global climate crisis through systemic, cooperative approaches prioritizing justice and equity.

Participants emphasized that transitioning to renewable energy and decarbonization must center historically marginalized communities and recognize that wealth disparities, limited access to technology, and continued reliance on fossil fuels are significant barriers. A successful response will require coordinated multilateral efforts, innovative financing, technology sharing, and global partnerships beyond short-term, transactional fixes.

A diverse group of participants engaged in a broad-ranging dialogue under Chatham House Rules. While the information shared during the dinner may be used, the identity and institutional affiliations of the speakers remain confidential.

Key Takeaways

  1. Climate justice is essential: Sustainable solutions must prioritize justice, preventing a repeat of the historical exclusion of marginalized communities in the new green economy. However, the framing of justice may prove to be a barrier to the transition.
  2. Financing the transition is challenging: Wealth disparities make it difficult to scale up climate finance in a way that aligns with climate justice and resilience.
  3. Critical resources drive the transition: Ensuring equitable access to essential minerals like lithium and cobalt is key to achieving a just energy transition.
  4. Technology transfer is a necessity: Voluntary technology-sharing mechanisms are insufficient-mandatory transfers are essential for an equitable global energy shift.
  5. The "last barrel of oil" problem: The global reliance on oil must end to accelerate the transition to renewable energy and achieve climate goals.

Discussion

The evening's conversation began with reflections on how essential climate justice is to a sustainable climate and energy transition, while acknowledging the challenges of creating practical, realistic solutions. One speaker emphasized that the climate-energy nexus is the linchpin for multiple intersecting crises, including food insecurity, climate shocks, debt burdens, and conflict. As the dialogue progressed, it became clear that embedding justice in climate solutions is non-negotiable, with broad agreement that achieving this would require significant structural shifts at both national and international levels.

One participant pointed out that inefficiencies in climate action often stem from complacency, especially in the United States, which may appear detached from the immediate impacts of climate crises that other regions face more acutely. They argued that this detachment weakens political urgency. Another attendee countered that the need for action is equally urgent in this country, highlighting how infrastructure, like electric grids, is often built on the exploitation of marginalized communities-particularly Native Americans-who live in poverty and face food deserts and health challenges.

Growing isolationism and strained relationships between the Global North and Global South make these partnerships more challenging. Many in the Global South view the climate commitments of countries in the Global North as hypocritical, as they push for emission reductions from the Global South without taking equivalent actions themselves.

The dinner concluded with a strong sense of urgency: climate action must be global, just, and sustainable. Large, systemic changes are needed to address both the climate crisis and the socio-economic inequalities it exacerbates. Throughout the evening, five key themes emerged:

  1. Justice at the Core of Climate Action
    Climate justice was identified as a key element that must be embedded in all climate solutions. However, this often raises political and financial challenges. Wealth disparities-both within and between nations-complicate the ability to finance climate action on the scale required. Many attendees noted that marginalized communities were excluded from the benefits of previous industrial revolutions and stressed that this time, they must not only have a seat at the table but also benefit from the emerging green economy. Solutions must take a justice-centered approach, accounting for the varying impacts of climate change on different populations.

    There was broad consensus on the need to craft political narratives that link climate justice to tangible action, ensuring that the human rights of the most vulnerable are central to policy decisions. One participant pointed out that many solutions tend to overlook the people most affected by the crisis, underscoring the importance of designing policies that truly center those impacted, particularly marginalized communities. These policies must be informed by the lived experiences of those communities, ensuring their needs and voices guide the climate and energy transition.

    However, participants also recognized a critical tension: while centering justice is essential, it can also complicate and potentially slow the progress of the energy transition. The challenge of integrating justice into climate policies-balancing the urgency of rapid transitions with the need for fairness and inclusivity-can make decision-making and implementation more complex.
  2. Financing the Future with Equity
    Wealth disparities were further highlighted as a significant challenge to scaling climate finance. Developing nations, particularly those in the Global South, often face higher costs of capital, making it difficult for them to finance climate adaptation and mitigation efforts. A speaker asked an open question to the group: how do we build structures that go beyond direct transfers and investments and emphasize long-term resilience and adaptation? A couple of respondents answered by saying that these types of solutions must consider scale, time, and investment while focusing on systemic change. Ultimately, many agreed that they must also consider the common but differentiated climate impacts affecting nations.

    Participants discussed the need for innovative financing mechanisms that prioritize long-term resilience and adaptation. One speaker pointed out that public and private capital flows need to be realigned to ensure they support just climate transitions without further indebting emerging economies. The group discussed the need for creative financing approaches, suggesting solutions such as lowering interest rates, reframing financial risk, and considering global tax mechanisms like a levy on the super-wealthy or fossil fuel-related funds.
  3. Critical Resources and Supply Chain Governance
    The global transition to renewable energy hinges on minerals like lithium, cobalt, and nickel, which are essential for renewable technologies. However, while China currently dominates supply chains for these minerals, participants emphasized that concerns over competitiveness with China should take a back seat to the existential threat of climate change. In fact, China's massive investments in solar energy have driven down the price of solar panels globally, which is seen as a positive development, particularly in the Global South. Nevertheless, the need for diversifying supply chains and creating global trade agreements that foster cooperation with mineral-producing countries remains critical. Participants stressed that addressing trade and social concerns related to mining these minerals should be prioritized. Sustainable mining practices and fair economic participation for resource-rich countries were also underscored as essential components of a just energy transition. Additionally, attendees acknowledged that while emerging technologies, such as carbon capture and storage, are often highlighted, the world must focus on existing decarbonization solutions that can be implemented immediately to meet climate goals.
  4. Technology Transfer for a Just Transition
    A major theme of the discussion was the inequitable distribution of clean energy and climate adaptation technologies. Participants stressed that voluntary mechanisms for technology transfer have so far been insufficient. Wealthy nations control most of the technologies necessary for the global energy transition, leaving developing countries at a disadvantage. The group discussed the potential for future climate agreements to mandate compulsory technology transfers, ensuring that countries in the Global South have the tools needed to participate in the transition equitably. Without such transfers, the divide between the Global North and South will only widen, and the transition will remain incomplete for many nations.
  5. The Sunset on Fossil Fuels
    A key point raised was the unsustainable nature of global reliance on fossil fuels, particularly for petrostates. Several participants highlighted that the mentality of trying to sell the "last barrel of oil" has led to competition between countries, delaying the inevitable transition to renewable energy. Russia's ongoing war has further complicated global energy markets, underscoring how geopolitical tensions are intertwined with fossil fuel dependency. This reliance not only exacerbates climate change but also stalls the progress needed to meet net-zero targets.

    Many in the group also emphasized the frustration of developing economies, which see it as unjust that countries in the Global North were able to industrialize and develop using fossil fuels, yet now asks those in the Global South to curb their own fossil fuel use to address climate change. These countries are being told to decarbonize without the same economic opportunities that fossil fuels once provided to the North. Participants noted that international systems must support petrostates and developing economies alike in moving away from oil dependence by providing them with pathways to invest in renewable energy, technology transfers, and diversification of their economies.

Areas for Further Inquiry

  • What is politically realistic? How can we push for climate action without placing a disproportionate burden on taxpayers, especially in wealthy nations?
  • How do we communicate climate justice effectively? Given the different experiences of climate impacts across the globe, how can we create narratives that reflect these varied perspectives?
  • How do we structure technology transfer mechanisms? What frameworks can ensure that technology transfers are both mandatory and equitable?
  • What innovative financing mechanisms should be considered? How can we generate the necessary capital for climate solutions without deepening the debt burdens of emerging economies?
  • How can we diversify global supply chains? What steps can be taken to secure access to critical resources in a way that supports both economic justice and environmental sustainability?

Sources for Additional Reading