Full Breakdown
Santa Marta Conference Launches Global Push to Phase Out Fossil Fuels
5/2/2026, 3:30:08 AM
Core Event: First International Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels
From 24 April to 29 April 2026, nearly 60 nations gathered in Santa Marta, Colombia, for a six-day summit co-hosted by Colombia’s Environment Minister Irene Vélez Torres and the Netherlands’ Minister for Climate and Green Growth Stientje van Veldhoven. Delegates from 57-59 countries—including coal-dependent Colombia, oil exporters Nigeria and Ghana, and importers such as the Philippines—discussed concrete “roadmaps” to wind down coal, oil and gas production. The United States, China, Saudi Arabia, Russia and several other major emitters were absent.
Background & Context
The summit emerged after COP30 in Belém (Nov 2025) failed to secure a collective decision on fossil-fuel phase-out, and after a 2023 UN Global Stocktake that called for a transition away from fossil fuels. Organisers framed the meeting as a “coalition of the willing” to bypass the consensus-driven UN process that has historically allowed fossil-fuel lobbyists to block progress.
Key Figures & Groups
- Irene Vélez Torres (Colombia, environment minister) – chaired the talks.
- Stientje van Veldhoven (Netherlands, climate minister) – emphasized the need for immediate action.
- Jules Kortenhorst (Energy Transitions Commission) – highlighted financing tools for the transition.
- Magnus Onuoha (Nigeria) – advocated a “phasing-down” approach.
- Cecil Dzelu (Ghana, technical director) – noted Ghana’s dual role as fossil-fuel producer and consumer.
- Tina Stege (Marshall Islands, climate envoy) – called for the summit’s outcomes to inform COP negotiations.
- Civil-society participants included Amnesty International, Greenpeace, E3G, and the People’s Summit for a Fossil-Free Future.
Data & Statistics
- Participants represented roughly 30 % of global fossil-fuel consumption, more than half of global GDP, and about one-fifth of worldwide fossil-fuel supply.
- France presented a national roadmap to end coal by 2030, oil by 2045 and gas by 2050.
- Colombia’s draft roadmap targets a 90 % emissions cut by 2050, projected to generate US$280 billion in economic benefits.
- Oil prices reached a four-year high during the summit, driven by the war in Iran.
Why It Matters / Impact
The conference shifted the climate dialogue from abstract emissions targets to the practicalities of dismantling the fossil-fuel system, linking energy security, debt sustainability and geopolitical stability. By foregrounding financing, trade reform and debt relief, the summit positioned the transition as both an environmental and economic imperative.
Official Statements & Responses
Colombia’s Vélez Torres declared that “the transition away from fossil fuels can no longer remain a slogan but must become a concrete, political and collective endeavour.” The Netherlands’ van Veldhoven stressed that “roadmaps are the tool for the ambition with which they came here.” UN officials noted that the meeting underscored the “urgent security and economic imperative” of moving to clean energy.
Criticism & Opposition
Indigenous leader Patricia Suárez (Colombian Amazon) warned that the scientific panel’s composition and the integration of traditional knowledge remained unclear. Amnesty International’s Candy Ofime highlighted the absence of the world’s largest emitters, arguing that without their participation the initiative risks limited impact. Several NGOs stressed that financing mechanisms must address debt burdens and prevent new fossil-fuel projects driven by fiscal pressures.
Verbatim Quotes
- “This is not a negotiating position for us. It is a matter of survival.” — Maina Talia, Tuvalu minister of climate and environment.
- “The financing is key, this is an investment issue,” — Nick Robins, World Resources Institute.
- “They will remember that we were there and working on the challenges of our time.” — Irene Vélez Torres.
- “This conference is actually the first time in 30 years of climate negotiations where countries are gathering to talk about how to ensure a fossil fuel phase-out,” — Tzeporah Berman, Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative.
Conflicting Reports & Gaps
Sources differ on the exact number of participating nations (57, 58, or 59). No binding commitments were signed, and the mandate, membership and deliverables of the newly created Science Panel for the Global Energy Transition remain unspecified.
What’s Next
A follow-up summit will be co-hosted by Ireland and Tuvalu in 2027, with an interim steering committee to advance three workstreams: national and regional roadmaps, trade-policy reform, and climate-finance mechanisms. Organisers aim to feed the outcomes into COP31 in Antalya, Turkey (Nov 2026) and to integrate the process with existing UNFCCC mechanisms.
