Bogotá, Colombia – The first global summit on “Transition away from fossil fuels” began today in Santa Marta, Colombia, with the participation of delegates from 50 countries and dozens of civil society organizations.
Unlike other climate conferences, this six-day conference will focus on implementing measures to end dependence on oil, coal and gas rather than negotiating international environmental commitments.
The summit comes at a pivotal time for global energy, with conflict in the Middle East limiting oil and gas supplies and increasing economic hardship for countries dependent on fossil fuels.
With the ongoing oil turmoil, the meeting comes at “the best moment” to shift global opinion toward renewable energy, said Colombia’s Environment Minister Irene Vélez.
In an interview with Britain’s Guardian newspaper this week, the minister who led the meeting said countries were “at a crossroads” over whether to choose between clean power sources such as solar and wind or continue to support fossil fuels that are causing the climate crisis and conflict.
The minister said he promised there would be a “coalition of the willing”, providing a roadmap to support countries already committed to transitioning away from fossil fuels.
Conference organizers have been militant in rejecting invitations from countries and organizations that deny climate change.
“If any country has not yet made that decision, this is not the space for them. We will not put boycotters or climate deniers at the table,” Vélez told the Guardian.
Behind the conference is the Fossil Fuel Treaty Initiative, an alliance of countries, technical institutions, communities and individuals “working to ensure a just transition globally from coal, oil and gas.”
According to the initiative, countries around the world plan to extract 120% more fossil fuels by 2030 than “the amount needed to manage the impacts of climate change.”
“The science is clear: Over the past decade, oil, gas and coal have not only been responsible for 86% of the CO2 pollution that heats the planet, but fossil fuel-fueled air pollution has also caused one in five deaths globally.”
For three decades, global climate negotiations have focused on managing fossil fuel emissions, a symptom of the crisis, while ignoring the root cause: the sprawl of oil, gas and coal extraction.
This was the topic chosen by Kevin Koenig, director of climate and energy at Amazon Watch, a California-based nonprofit supporting indigenous communities who attended the conference.
The last major summit, COP 30, was held in Brazil last year and “fossil fuel lobbyists outnumbered national delegations,” he said. Latin America ReportAt the end of the meeting, he added a declaration that “little was said about fossil fuels.”
He hoped things would be different in Santa Marta. “This is the conference that will finally address the elephant in the room and get to the root of the climate change problem.”
Koenig added that several factors are contributing to the push toward renewable energy. Recent data shows that cities and even entire countries have been without renewable energy for weeks as the Middle East crisis exposes the risk of oil addiction.
“It’s a moment where we’re seeing two wars around fossil fuel politics and dependency, but for the first time, renewable energy is real, not just theoretical, and decision-makers know it’s scalable,” Koenig said.
This was supported by data from the Center for Energy and Clean Air, which reported that while global fossil fuel power generation fell in the first month after the US-Iran conflict closed the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for oil tankers, energy generated by solar and wind power increased.
Another goal of the meeting was to identify economic and legal barriers to the transition to renewable energy, Koenig said.
There is a hegemony of interconnected global norms that increase dependence on fossil fuels, for example, arbitration laws that punish small countries in international courts if they attempt to escape large oil contracts. This architecture maintains the country’s dependency, he said.
“Transition countries get beaten up in arbitration courts or punished by credit rating agencies. For example, when Ecuadorians voted to keep fossil fuels in the land, their credit ratings were downgraded.”
In countries like Colombia, fossil fuels are also linked to localized conflicts and armed groups, Koenig explained. For over 30 years, Amazon Watch has supported many indigenous communities under attack to defend their territories from drilling.
“Some countries use oil extraction as a reason to open up a region, saying ‘we can militarize it and it will be safer.’ In reality, oil and energy infrastructure is a magnet for armed groups, political attacks or intimidation,” he explained.
That dynamism has never been more evident on the world stage.
“Fossil fuels are fueling dictatorship, violence, conflict and authoritarian regimes,” Koenig said. “The Middle East crisis highlights the urgency of transition.”
“Yes, giving up fossil fuels is about climate, but it’s also about security and democracy.”
Featured Image Description: Delegates register for the Fossil Fuels Conference in Santa Marta, April 24, 2026.
Featured image credit: @MinAmbienteCo via X
