Today in Glasgow, Denmark and Costa Rica will announce a new and exciting alliance of countries and jurisdictions committing to something long a ‘verboten’ topic at the UNFCCC — an end to oil and gas expansion, and a managed and equitable phase-out of existing extraction.
ECO welcomes the groundbreaking announcement of the Beyond Oil & Gas Alliance (BOGA). The science is clear that such an effort would have been even better a few decades earlier…but there’s no time like the present to commit to real climate leadership!
The alliance is BIG news because BOGA represents the first diplomatic initiative to focus on the oil and gas production dimension of the climate equation, aligning with the strong scientific evidence from the International Energy Agency, UN Environment Programme, and others that a rapid and steep decline of fossil fuel production is essential to limit warming to 1.5ºC. Core members must have already ended new licensing, concessions or leasing rounds for oil and gas production — an essential and urgent first step to showing real leadership.
BOGA’s launch marks a departure from decades of international climate policy in which the need to align the production of fossil fuels with global carbon budgets was largely ignored — an omission which has cost us all dearly and made the path ahead very steep. The launch comes the week of the 26th anniversary of Ken Saro-Wiwa and the Ogoni Nine’s murder at the hands of Royal Dutch Shell and the Nigerian government, a painful reminder that the costs of extraction and greed run far deeper than carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
ECO hopes BOGA settles in and redefines what it means to be a ‘climate leader’. Countries, jurisdictions and companies committing to net zero emissions by 2050, while refusing to end the expansion of fossil fuel production cannot and should not claim this title — it should be reserved for those equitably tackling both the supply and demand of fossil fuels. To be successful, BOGA will need to listen closely to ECO’s advice:
BOGA should grow and redefine climate leadership: Success hinges on convincing a growing number of jurisdictions to end expansion of oil and gas production and commit to a Paris-aligned phase-out. This means mobilizing BOGA’s global platform and diplomatic resources to grow the list of members and normalize the need to phase-out fossil fuel production as a key expectation for countries and subnational actors. BOGA should also focus on creating support mechanisms to encourage Global South countries to join.
BOGA should define an equitable phase-out: Members will make headlines for their commitments to stop new extraction, but the second part of their commitment is equally important. BOGA has the opportunity to catalyze a conversation on equitable Paris-aligned phase-out dates for oil and gas production, which is desperately needed. New climate commitments are being made every day without reality checks on what gets us to real zero on fossil fuels in a fast enough and fair way.
BOGA should be guided by science and maintain integrity: Wealthy, economically diversified countries joining BOGA should go beyond a licensing ban and commit to stop all new development of oil and gas, including in licensed areas, as well as accelerate the phase-out of existing production. To align with the ambition-ratcheting spirit of the Paris Agreement, BOGA should be clear that its members’ ambition will increase over time and encourage members to go beyond existing commitments.
The creation of the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance is an important development and a welcome first step towards a global managed phase-out of fossil fuel production. ECO urges more countries and subnational actors to join this initiative to create momentum to end fossil fuel expansion and to align existing production with the 1.5ºC limit.