Parliamentarians from across the world demand safeguards and clear timelines for the fossil fuels phase-out

Three decades after the first Conference of the Parties (COP) on climate change, the COP30 presidency, led by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has finally proposed the inclusion of a roadmap for phasing out fossil fuels in the negotiations. This is an important and long-awaited step: it acknowledges that it is not enough to talk about “transition” in the abstract; we must chart a course with a clear destination on the horizon.

But that course is still not guaranteed in the texts, and it still fails to clearly name what is essential: the phase-out of coal, oil, and gas with deadlines and obligations. A roadmap without an ambitious timeline, without verifiable targets, and without justice and equity criteria runs the risk of becoming yet another exercise in delay.

At the same time, the first week in Belém has exposed the depth of the fossil fuel industry’s grip on the process itself. More than 1,600 accredited lobbyists from the oil, gas, and coal industries outnumber every national delegation except that of the host country. This is no minor detail: it is a sign of the tough reality we are up against. While references to a fossil fuel phase-out are not even part of the official negotiation agenda, the industry seeking to prolong the fossil fuel era enjoys a privileged seat in the very space that should be designing its end.

In the face of this resistance, the path to the future is increasingly being charted by legislative action, social movements and civil society. Proof of this can be seen in the five simultaneous bills recently introduced in Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia to halt the expansion of fossil fuels in the Amazon, one of the vital ecosystems in the planet, and achieve a double climate victory in times of urgency for action and cooperation.

These legislative proposals move beyond declarations. They translate ambition into enforceable measures, setting limits on fossil fuel expansion and outlining clear, just pathways for transition. Thirty years on, continuing to postpone the fossil fuel phase-out is no longer a matter of technical difficulty, it is a political choice. Either the COP process shows the courage that parliaments, social movements and civil society are already demonstrating, or it will be left behind by history.

That is why we, Parliamentarians for a Fossil-Free Future, a network of more than 900 legislators from 96 countries, welcome the presidency’s proposal to include a phase-out roadmap, but we demand that it comes with clear conditions:

● it must be inclusive, reflecting the voices of countries and communities in the frontlines of the climate crisis;

● it must set explicit and ambitious timelines for the phase-out of fossil fuels within this decade;

● it must enshrine differentiated responsibilities, grounded in capacities and historical emissions;

● and that it must be backed by a robust package of finance and support to guarantee a just and equitable transition.

Only then will this roadmap be worthy of its name — a credible, just, and collective route toward a fossil-free future.

Parliamentarians for a Fossil-Free Future