> The ideal solution is to "leap-frog" fossil fuels and go straight to renewables. This is an indirect way for developed countries to "pay developing countries fees for keeping the rivers and air clean"; those "fees" take the form of massive research and development investment to create renewable tech, and massive subsidies to price it below the fossil fuel alternatives.

That takes time. Meanwhile coal plants and concrete manufacture will continue as the developing countries grow. Even China has to operate a lot of coal plants to meet its current energy needs. Global C02 emissions likely won't peak for several years, before starting to decline.