Brazil presented a voluntary roadmap at COP31 in Antalya, Turkey, to help countries move from coal, oil and gas toward cleaner energy such as wind and solar. The proposal is meant to turn climate goals into practical steps, not impose a negotiated decision or fixed deadlines.

Lidy Nacpil said communities and workers, especially in the global south, welcomed the proposed mechanism but warned that some governments were trying to narrow its scope and delay implementation.

Irene Vélez Torres called for national and regional plans to address both the demand for and production of fossil fuels, describing the issue as a long-standing taboo in climate talks.

The final stage would expand cleaner energy until it gradually replaces fossil fuels; as demand falls, fossil-fuel supply is expected to decline as well.

The path forward is contested: oil- and gas-dependent developing economies say they have a right to develop and fear stranded assets, while least-developed countries warn that the transition will require substantial financial support.

Germany backed Brazil’s proposal as a basis for continued work, while Al Gore urged countries to turn years of discussion into concrete action.

The roadmap starts by asking countries to assess their reliance on fossil fuels and their capacity to expand renewables, then develop national transition plans from 2028 focused on the infrastructure needed to reshape energy systems.

Countries would choose a pace and approach suited to their circumstances, with proposed measures including halting new fossil-fuel power plants and phasing out fossil-fuel subsidies.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres urged countries to move beyond discussing the transition and organize, finance and deliver it, arguing that faster action is essential to limit warming and reduce the economic and security costs of fossil-fuel dependence.

More than 700 groups from 88 countries called for a Belém-Antalya Mechanism to turn just-transition promises into support for human rights, gender equality, good jobs and Indigenous rights.

Countries have struggled to advance the 2023 agreement to transition away from fossil fuels, and no major breakthrough is expected at COP31; fossil fuels were not explicitly mentioned in COP30’s final agreement.

The summit’s progress faces a test from fossil-fuel exporters Turkey and Australia; Recep Tayyip Erdoğan praised Turkey’s oilfields, underscoring the tension between continued fossil-fuel development and climate goals.