Corrects date the government will deliver the new plan in the 4th paragraph. Story originally published 28 January.
Brazil's path to phase out fossil fuels needs to focus on the power and industrial sectors and include ambitious goals that can reduce risks, preserve energy security, ensure tariff fairness and maintain economic competitiveness, climate umbrella group Observatorio do Clima said.
Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on 8 December asked the energy, environment and finance ministries to draft a resolution by 3 February mapping out the phase-out of fossil fuels. He previously called for the creation of an international plan to move away from fossil fuels during a leaders' summit only a few days before November UN Cop 30 climate summit in northern Brazil. But the call did not make it to the summit's final decision despite backing from more than 80 countries.
Instead, the Cop 30 presidency pledged to create a roadmap on the issue outside of official negotiations. An initial draft could be ready by April, when Colombia is set to host a global summit on the topic, according to Cop 30 president Andre Correa do Lago.
Brazil's finance ministry told Argus that it is working on the roadmap draft alongside the environment and energy ministries, as well as Lula's chief of staff, and that it will deliver it on 6 February.
The Observatorio do Clima's proposal includes 46 recommendations laid out in three sections: energy policy and transition guidelines; financing and economic fundamentals; and governance guidelines. The recommendations include:
- Replacing thermoelectric power plants with renewable-powered sources whenever possible, as well as avoiding contracting new fossil-fueled facilities;
- Fully banning hydraulic fracturing;
- Gradually reducing natural gas and oil usage in industry by replacing them with alternative fuel sources such as green hydrogen, biomass and electricity;
- Discontinuing investments in carbon capture and storage projects;
- A plan to end crude block auctions;
- Adding fuels such as biomethane, biodiesel, ethanol and hydrogen to Brazil's transport sector;
- Eliminating fossil fuel subsidies;
- Increasing state-controlled Petrobras' spending on renewables;
- Establishing a national fund to finance the energy transition.
The plan was published and officially forwarded to the government on Wednesday, Observatorio do Clima's public policy coordinator Suely Araujo said. The group has held informal talks with government officials, she added.
It will serve as both a guideline to the Brazilian government as well as to the Cop 30 presidency and the Colombia conference, WWF Brazil's energy transition lead Ricardo Fujii said.
The group also plans to bring the roadmap to the meeting of Brazil's energy transition forum, which will be held this week.
But phasing out fossil fuels could seem to run counter to Brazil's plans to keep increasing crude production. It produces around 4mn b/d of crude, making it one of the 10 largest producers globally, according to its hydrocarbon regulator ANP.
Further, Brazil plans to expand crude output to 5.3mn b/d by 2030, according to energy research bureau Epe, hinging on new exploratory frontiers such as the southern Pelotas basin and the environmentally sensitive equatorial margin.
