Powers and countervailing powers, Climate change and fossil fuels Expert Workshop, Amsterdam

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Rapidly phasing out fossil fuels, as is needed to mitigate the worst impacts of climate change, will require radical transformation of major stakeholders in the fossil fuel empire, including oil and gas companies, governments, and investors. Doing so in a way which accounts for the many justice implications of climate change will require rethinking and challenging many of the principles and institutions which govern these actors. Working towards a just transition poses many challenges and uncertainties (fairly distributing the losses associated with a fossil fuel phase out, implementing a just transition for workers, ensuring access to the needed finance, among others). For example, the imminent stranding of assets in the Global North to fulfil committed climate targets may encourage leapfrogging in the Global South where FF are newly found and used to avoid and/or build up such risk. However, (short term) profits and contracts, amongst others, may prevent such a leapfrog. In this workshop, we will bring together experts working on climate change and phasing out fossil fuels across a range of sectors, to examine the norms, regulations, and countervailing powers which govern and guide the fossil fuel sector and its stakeholders, the ways in which these policies hinder phase-out, and ask, what changes or disruptions are needed to enable an equitable and rapid transition away from fossil fuels?