The TAFF roadmap can help accelerate the coal transition, and here is how

At the end of COP30, the Brazilian Presidency undertook to work with governments, industry and civil society to develop a roadmap to support the implementation of the COP28 commitment to transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems in a just, orderly and equitable manner. 

The TAFF roadmap is a key opportunity to scale up support for countries seeking to move away from coal to modern, more affordable and more secure clean electricity systems. It can do so by raising awareness of existing solutions and resources, and by connecting more governments to the partnerships they need to overcome the barriers in their transition.  

The PPCA’s submission to the COP Presidency roadmap consultations, which you can find below, lays out this role the roadmap can play in more detail. 

Specifically, our submission explores:

• The importance of coal’s inclusion: How, as the world approaches the structural decline of coal, we need a clear roadmap for managing the socio-economic impacts of this shift.

• The role of the roadmap in supporting coal transition: By outlining key milestones and stages that parties can progress through as they transition, in line with their national circumstances. This could include analysis of the different phases of the transition, indicative timeframes, policies, financing, and technical support needed to enable each stage and existing experiences and lessons learnt.

• The role the PPCA can play: The work the PPCA has done to date (including the Plan to Accelerate Coal Transitions, the Coal Transition Commission and Solutions Bank) and its plans to tackle outstanding challenges at the national and global level that can be drawn on to inform the roadmap.

• The most critical barriers hindering coal transition: including community and regional dependence on coal, maintaining energy security in the face of rising energy demand, and the difficulties of retiring very young coal power plants. 

• The potential levers that can accelerate coal transition: including supporting governments to develop and implement strong enabling policies and transition plans informed by their national circumstances; scaling finance for the just coal-to-clean transition and accelerating project pipeline development, including the development of coal transition projects such as the early retirement of coal plants.

Read the full submission

Why is the TAFF process important?

The TAFF roadmap comes at a critical moment. Delivering the coal-to-clean transition will address the risks of dangerous climate change,increase energy security, support economic growth, and bring important health benefits. The current energy crisis underscores how vulnerable economies and societies remain to fossil fuel shocks – and why accelerating the transition away from fossil fuels, including coal, is essential for building a more secure and prosperous future.

But at the same time, the transition poses complex challenges, further exacerbated by the current crisis. Coordinated, proactive global planning through the roadmap is essential to deliver a managed transition that maximises the benefits while minimising disruption.

Countries do not need to start from scratch: the PPCA offers practical tools and partnerships to support secure coal transitions.

Through a decade of member experience, the PPCA has identified many of the policy, financing, and technical solutions countries need. The PPCA’s Solutions Bank shows proven, real-world examples from members across four continents: from policy reform, to financing models and just transition planning. The reports of the Coal Transition Commission, which we host, and the PPCA’s Plan to Accelerate Coal Transitions released under the COP30 Action Agenda lay out concrete steps to scale these solutions up. These tools were built from what has actually worked – and what has not – in countries managing this transition under real economic and political pressure. They are available, and they are practical. The roadmap can help raise awareness of these solutions and spur innovation to find more solutions for the more challenging markets.

The Alliance also provides a trusted space for peer‑to‑peer learning, access to technical and financial support and building the enabling international environment. The TAFF roadmap would be a very timely next step to strengthen this existing multilateral cooperation to empower countries to access and make the best use of the solutions and support. It would also inform Parties as they work towards the next set of goals under the second Global Stocktake.

Read more about our proven models, tools, and partnerships in our Solutions Bank, CTC reports and Plan to Accelerate Coal Transitions  

Fossil fuel roadmap is key to energy security

In a piece published on Backchannel, PPCA Head of Secretariat Julia Skorupska makes the case that the TAFF roadmap can help governments navigate the coal transition without compromising energy security — and that the practical support they need to do so is already available. Read her piece below on how the TAFF roadmap can help.

Read the opinion piece