Beyond Fossil Fuels

After the failure of the Climate Change COP30 in Brazil to address fossil fuels due to the consensus rule and the opposition of vested interests in the current energy system, a “conference of the willing” was convened by Colombia and the Netherlands in Santa Marta, Colombia, on 24-29 April 2026.

The idea for a specific fossil-fuel transition conference hosted in Colombia first emerged during tense negotiations at the COP30 climate summit in Belém, Brazil. A group of around 80 nations wanted a “roadmap” away from fossil fuels mentioned in the COP30 outcome text. When this failed, Colombia and the Netherlands jointly announced that they would co-host a summit in Santa Marta in April. The Brazilian COP30 presidency promised to bring forward an “informal” fossil-fuel roadmap, drawing on the discussions and debates in Santa Marta.

Several events were combined during the conference: a summit for ministers and climate envoys on 28-29 April, a science pre-conference on 24-25 April, a day for subnational governments, parliamentarians and other stakeholders, and a Peoples’ Assembly.

The Summit

The summit on “transitioning away” from oil, coal and gas was attended by 57 countries representing one-third of the world’s economy. Invitations were not extended to countries known to defend fossil fuel interests to enable a constructive debate. Ministers and envoys from across the world sat side-by-side in small meeting rooms to have open and frank conversations about the barriers they face in transitioning from fossil fuels to clean energy.

The participating countries were: Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, Dominican Republic, the EU, the Federated States of Micronesia, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Guatemala, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Kenya, Luxembourg, Malawi, the Maldives, the Marshall Islands, México, Mongolia, the Netherlands, Nepal, Nigeria, Norway, New Zealand, Palau, Panama, Philippines, Portugal, Saint Lucia, Senegal, Singapore, Slovenia, the Solomon Islands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tanzania, Turkey, Tuvalu, Uganda, the UK, Uruguay, Vanuatu, the Vatican and Vietnam. Countries including China, Russia, the US and India were not invited, as they had not supported the fossil-fuel roadmap at COP30.

The two-day high-level segment began with an opening plenary, which saw more than 20 countries put forward their views. Developed and developing nations alike spoke of the need to transition away from fossil fuels not only to tackle worsening climate change, but also the high prices, insecurity and volatility associated with continued reliance on coal, oil and gas. Several nations also used their interventions to lament a lack of progress in addressing fossil-fuel use during the last 30 years of annual UN climate negotiations. A small number of nations from the Pacific and Africa used their interventions to show their support for the Fossil Fuel Treaty initiative, an idea to negotiate a new legally binding agreement to control fossil-fuel use, currently supported by 18 countries.

Following the opening plenary, ministers and climate envoys spent much of the two-day high-level segment in closed-door breakout sessions, discussing issues ranging from “planned phase down and closure of fossil-fuel extraction” to “closing gaps in financial and investment systems”. Each session featured 12 ministers and envoys representing different countries sitting in an inner circle, with an outer circle made up of civil society members, Indigenous people and other stakeholders. The conversations that took place were free-flowing, with ministers and stakeholders given equal opportunities to contribute.

Science pre-conference

There was a science pre-conference on 24-25 April attended by 400 global academics. These scientists split into 11 different workstreams to debate a vast array of topics related to transitioning away from fossil fuels, ranging from fossil-fuel phaseout policies and the role of methane, to just transitions and economic diversity, and the role of multilateralism. The aim was to go back to science and base decisions on science, backing up decision-making, processes and pathways with science.

A new science panel for global energy transition was launched by Dr Johan Rockström, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany and Dr Carlos Nobre, an eminent researcher on the Amazon rainforest from the University of São Paulo in Brazil. The panel will involve 50-100 scientists from around the world and will be based at the University of São Paulo. The scientists on the panel will aim to provide rapid analysis on how to transition away from fossil fuels for both countries and multilateral talks, including specific information for nations that request it. The panel will be split into four working groups, focusing on “transition pathways”, “technology solutions”, “policy design and evaluation” and “finance instruments and governments”. In comparison to the seven-year cycle for IPCC reports, this panel will be able to come up with annual updates and be able to scale down to the national level. It will have three co-chairs: Dr Vera Songwe, an economist and climate finance expert from Cameroon; Prof Ottmar Edenhofer, chief economist at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research; and Prof Gilberto M Jannuzzi, professor of energy systems at Universidade Estadual de Campinas in Brazil.

The second new science initiative to emerge from the academic conference was a new synthesis report offering 12 action insights for how countries can transition away from fossil fuels. The report contains some explicit action recommendations for countries, such as “halt all new fossil-fuel expansion” and “prohibit fossil fuel advertising…recognising fossil fuels as health-harming products”. The report was first put together by 24 scientists at the request of the Colombian government. It was then further debated and refined by many of the 400 scientists gathered at the academic pre-conference in Santa Marta.

The final scientific initiative unveiled at the academic segment was a new roadmap for how Colombia can transition away from fossil fuels. It says that Colombia can cut its emissions from energy use to 90% below 2015 levels by 2050, through ambitious policies to move away from fossil fuels and electrify its transport sector.

The Colombian government also organised a “People’s Assembly”. This brought together hundreds of Indigenous peoples, Afro-descendent peoples, peasant farmers, trade representatives, women and children and other civil society members. The goal was to gather the thoughts from these groups on the summit’s main pillars of addressing fossil-fuel production, economic constraints and global governance and multilateralism. Indigenous peoples and civil society members were also free to speak in closed-door discussions with ministers.

Outcomes

At the conference’s final plenary session on 29 April, co-host nations Colombia and the Netherlands presented the key outcomes from the summit.

The first outcome was that Tuvalu and Ireland will co-host a second transitioning away from fossil fuels conference in the Pacific island nation in 2027. Three workstreams will bring issues forward to the second summit.

The first will focus on developing national and regional roadmaps away from fossil fuels connected to the country’s nationally determined contributions (NDCs) including emissions exported from producing countries. The development of the roadmaps will be supported by the newly established science panel and the NDC partnership, a global initiative helping nations prepare their NDCs.

The second workstream will be focused on changing the financial system to better facilitate the transition away from fossil fuels. This will include work to identify fossil-fuel subsidies and find solutions to “debt traps”. It will be supported by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD).

The final workstream will address fossil-fuel-intensive trade, with the aim of advancing progress towards a fossil fuel-free trade system. This workstream will be supported by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

A coordination group was established ensure continuity towards the second and subsequent conferences, consisting of countries leading different alliances and initiatives that are implementing elements of the transition away from fossil fuels, as well as the co-hosts of the first and second conferences, Colombia, the Netherlands, Tuvalu and Ireland.

Peoples’ Summit

Separately from the events organised by the Colombian government, civil society also organised its own “people’s summit”, involving 900 organisations and networks, held in the city of Santa Marta from 24-26 April. This summit also organised sessions for representatives from different groups to offer their thoughts and insights into the transition away from fossil fuels, ending in a joint declaration that spells out their positions on ensuring that the transition has to be rights-based, funded and results in the dismantling of the systems that have caused harm and destruction driven by fossil fuel dependency.

We can already look forward to the second transitioning away from fossil fuels summit in Tuvalu in 2027.

MAIN SOURCE: Carbon Brief https://www.carbonbrief.org/santa-marta-key-outcomes-from-first-summit-…