Personally, I do think that burning oil derivatives is a waste and I would like to see it replaced where possible with a superior energy source but the only source that fits the bill for me is nuclear and the only responsible way to do it is to build the new power plants first and then phase out the old fossil fuel plants.
We know that nuclear power works, it's capable of producing massive amounts of electricity and powering whole countries anywhere we are able to build plants, output doesn't vary based on forces that are outside of our control, uranium is abundant and there are hundreds of years of estimated reserves in the ground. That is a plain and simple case for it to be a bridge to a future where we can produce excess and uninterrupted power using solar, preferably space based arrays that don't use up land, won't be affected by weather and produce power at night. Even better, it might be a bridge to fusion power, having more nuclear physicists and technicians around would surely speed up progress.
I'm averse to reducing prosperity for anyone because it has a very non-zero chance of us never recovering to a position where we can continue to increase prosperity for all. Put plainly, creating energy poverty in the West has a good chance of knocking us into a dark age where little to no progress is made and even regression may happen which, to your concern, would increase CO2 output and worsen climatic effects.