Date/Time Date(s) - 18/03/202610:30 am - 12:00 pm
Location MUSC 313/311
Research in Progress Seminar (RIPS)
The Global Political Economy of Fossil Fuel Phase-Out
Dr. Peter Newell Professor, International Relations, University of Sussex
The international community faces a conundrum. Without more ambitious action to curtail fossil fuel production, climate goals are impossible to realize. To date, an emerging array of minilateral international governance initiatives has promoted cooperation to reduce support to fossil fuels, through export finance and subsidies and through voluntary commitments to forgo fossil fuel reserves. However, a just transition away from fossil fuels will require more multilateral responses to address challenges such as uneven capacity to diversify economies, differential obligations to move away from fossil fuels based on historical patterns of consumption and the financial constraints which inhibit many states from reducing their fossil fuel dependence. A growing number of states now recognize the need for global oversight and regulation of fossil fuel production, and they are starting to articulate what form a response might take. This presentation takes stock of such efforts and explores future political and institutional pathways towards a more orderly and just exit from fossil fuels.
Peter Newell is a Professor of International Relations at the University of Sussex and theme lead for sustainability in the Sussex School for Progressive Futures. Besides working for academic institutions including the universities of Sussex, Oxford, Warwick and East Anglia, and FLACSO Argentina, he has undertaken commissioned research and policy work for the governments of the UK, India, Ireland, Sweden and Finland and for international organisations such as UNDP, GEF, UNCTAD, the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank. His recent research focuses on the political economy of low carbon energy transitions, but he has undertaken research, advocacy and consultancy work on different aspects of climate change for over 30 years. His single and co-authored books include Climate for Change; Governing Climate Change; Globalization and the Environment; Climate Capitalism; Transnational Climate Change Governance; Global Green Politics; Power Shift; Changing Our Ways and States of Transition.