Countries are gathering in Santa Marta, Colombia, this week for a summit meant to accelerate the shift away from fossil fuels, organizers said, as frustration grows among some governments and advocates that decades of U.N. climate negotiations have not tackled fossil fuel production directly.
The April 24-29 conference, co-hosted by Colombia and the Netherlands, will bring together ministers, subnational governments, academics and civil society groups to discuss how to move “just, orderly and equitable” away from oil, gas and coal, organizers said. Officials said the goal is to create proposals and build coalitions of countries that want to move faster on phasing out fossil fuels.
Organizers said they view the meeting as politically sensitive precisely because fossil fuels have long divided countries in formal climate talks. Colombia’s environment minister, Irene Vélez Torres, told The Associated Press ahead of the summit that, “It is definitely a political space. We are opening a space for discussion that does not exist.”
Unlike the annual U.N. climate framework, the Santa Marta meeting is not expected to produce binding commitments. Under the Paris Agreement, governments set their own emissions targets, meaning there is no international mechanism that can compel countries to phase out fossil fuels, officials said, and the summit instead seeks to generate an evolving package of proposals.
Advocates attending said they want the conversation to move beyond emissions pledges and toward implementation plans that change where extraction happens. “Fossil-free zones turn global climate goals into concrete geographic decisions,” said Andrés Gómez of the Fossil Fuel Treaty Initiative, describing proposals to designate areas where oil, gas and coal extraction would be off-limits, especially in ecologically sensitive regions.
Indigenous leaders involved in the process said they want participating governments to adopt fossil-free zones. Juan Carlos Jintiach, executive secretary of the Global Alliance of Territorial Communities, said Indigenous peoples view stopping fossil fuel extraction as “essential to defending our territories, our governance systems and our right to self-determination,” and he added that governments must move “from commitments to implementation” by integrating fossil-free zones into national energy transition plans.
Geopolitical uncertainty is also shaping the backdrop for the talks. The conference is arriving as the war in Iran has disrupted global energy markets and raised concerns about supply through the Strait of Hormuz, a route that the Associated Press story said carries roughly a fifth of the world’s oil. Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland and a climate justice advocate expected to attend, said in remarks ahead of the summit that “Oil prices don’t just stay in energy markets — they move straight into people’s lives,” and she warned that “Impacts are hitting the most vulnerable hardest, as always, while oil companies reap windfall profits.”
Vélez said instability should accelerate the transition rather than delay it, telling the Associated Press, “The crisis — and let’s call it what it is — the war in the Middle East has triggered a global crisis,” and adding, “In this case, I believe the movement should be toward radicalizing the green agenda and the transitions.” Analysts cited by organizers said supply shocks could also tempt some countries to increase fossil fuel production in the short term even as they hold to long-term climate goals, reflecting a tension between energy security and climate action.
That tension is especially visible in Latin America, where many economies rely on exports tied to oil, gas and mining while positioning themselves as climate leaders. The Associated Press report said Colombia, one of the region’s top oil producers and home to about 6% of the Amazon rainforest, depends on crude exports for a significant share of government revenue and foreign income, and it also said Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro’s government has pledged to halt new oil exploration and push for a global phaseout of fossil fuels.
Financial constraints may also weigh on discussions. Civil society groups told the Associated Press that many developing countries face high public debt and limited fiscal space, which makes it harder to invest in renewable energy and other elements of the transition. Carola Mejía of the Latin American and Caribbean Network for Economic, Social and Climate Justice said in comments shared with the Associated Press, “Moving away from fossil fuels requires, without a doubt, a careful economic and energy transition plan,” while Global Witness’s Gabriella Bianchini said the stakes extend beyond climate impacts alone.
As governments and advocates debate how to translate climate diplomacy into faster change, observers said a key question will be whether the Santa Marta meeting can send a clearer political signal on an issue that has remained largely unresolved in global climate negotiations. Vélez said in a quote cited by organizers that, “If we think about it, the conference is that turning point where, collectively, we decide to be on the right side of history.”