Announcing LINGO’s Leave it in the Ground Incentives Toolbox
The math is stark. As of 2023, the 1.5°C carbon budget was about 380 Gt CO₂, while already-discovered fossil fuel reserves would emit roughly 915 Gt if extracted and burned (Oil Change International). Ending our dependency means cutting demand and supply together, and financing a rapid, just transition away from coal, oil, and methane gas.
In response to the COP28 Global Stocktake call to “transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly, and equitable manner,” LINGO has assembled a practical Incentive Toolbox for governments, public banks, funders, and frontline allies. It gathers proven and emerging finance instruments that pay to keep fossil fuels in the ground, protect communities, and scale clean energy.
What you will find inside
- JETPs supporting country-level transition deals, now extending beyond coal in places like Senegal.
- Coal Asset Transition mechanisms to retire power plants early with fairness and transparency.
- Debt-for-climate swaps that cut debt and fund climate action without harsh restructuring.
- Climate Bailout options to wind down fossil firms and move capital into renewables.
- Special Drawing Rights pathways to finance clean projects without new debt.
- Philanthropic buy-outs, public coal phase-out deals, and fossil fuel subsidy reform.
- Performance payments, reverse auctions, green and sustainability-linked bonds, mineral wealth accounting, lessons from Yasuní ITT, and programmes for plugging leaking oil and gas wells to slash methane emissions.
Explore the full set, with concise explainers and links to dedicated pages for each instrument. Share it with negotiators, finance ministries, central banks, and campaigners who are ready to replace extraction projects with real climate solutions.
Start here: [Leave it in the Ground Incentive Toolbox]
