2020 Virtual Forum: Plenary Session
Fossil fuel production, COVID recovery, and just transitions
Moderator: Anne-Sophie Cerisola, Director, Climate Ambition Team, Executive Office of the Secretary-General - United Nations (UNSG)
Panelists:
Fatima Denton, United Nations University Institute for Natural Resources in Africa (UNU-INRA)
Ivetta Gerasimchuk, International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD)
Christophe McGlade, International Energy Agency (IEA)
Tatiana Mitrova, SKOLKOVO Energy Centre, Moscow School of Management
Moustapha Kamal Gueye, International Labour Organisation (ILO)
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to worldwide disruptions to fossil fuel markets, as restrictions in economic and social activity and travel triggered the biggest shock to global fossil fuel consumption in seven decades. Employment levels in fossil fuel sectors have taken a big hit, and countries reliant on fossil fuel revenues have suffered especially painful social costs. How can countries recovering from the pandemic address these immediate job losses and shocks to government revenue, while still “building back better”? In this plenary session, panelists will discuss the latest research on how governments are supporting fossil fuel and low-carbon energy in recovery strategies, and the resulting implications for fossil fuel production, greenhouse gas emissions, and economic recovery. Further, panelists will discuss approaches to building back better in the coal, oil, and gas sectors – from directing economic recovery funds to cleaning up abandoned oil and gas wells, to using the opportunity to reduce methane losses, to possible alternative economic development pathways that help bring about a just transition away from fossil fuels, in accordance with globally agreed climate goals.