Ahead of the Santa Marta Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels in Colombia, CAN Europe, the COFFIS Observatory and the Climate Reality Project sent a letter to some European members of COFFIS: a Coalition on Phasing Out Fossil Fuel Incentives Including Subsidies.
This letter was sent with CAN Europe’s signature to ministers in Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Spain, but the letter was also sent more broadly to all COFFIS member governments.
The Coalition on Phasing Out Fossil Fuel Incentives Including Subsidies (COFFIS) was launched in November 2023, with the aim to improve transparency, accelerate action and enhance international collaboration on subsidy reform. Through COFFIS, member governments committed to start publishing annual fossil fuel subsidy inventories within one year of signing and to develop a subsidy phase-out action plan within two years.
The letter calls on COFFIS members to use the Santa Marta conference to:
Communicate release dates for their annual fossil fuel subsidy inventories and phase-out plans, in line with the COFFIS commitments. Transparency and predictability must remain a priority. Phase-out plans should incorporate measures to guarantee equity and justice, and take into account the true social and environmental cost of fossil fuel subsidies.
Collectively pledge to introduce no new fossil fuel subsidies. Instead announce immediate measures to limit the impact of current and future crises on vulnerable consumers and industries.
Collectively prioritise an immediate phase out of fossil fuel exploration and production subsidies as a first step towards a full phase-out as soon as possible. This is to protect consumers from future price volatility, reduce fossil dependence, and lower the burden on public finances.