Countries meeting in Santa Marta, Colombia, ended a first-of-its-kind conference focused on moving away from fossil fuels on Wednesday without binding commitments, but with clear agreement on what comes next. Officials, climate advocates and financial experts from 56 countries gathered over several days in the Caribbean coastal city to tackle a politically sensitive part of climate policy: transitioning away from oil, gas and coal, which is described by participants as the main driver of global warming.
Multiple participants said the Santa Marta meetings marked a shift in emphasis. Instead of centering on national emissions targets—an approach common at U.N. climate talks—countries and stakeholders focused on the underlying drivers of climate change, including how to wind down fossil-fuel supply while addressing economic and social impacts. Participants described that shift as moving from pledges to practical questions, including the structure of future cooperation among governments.
Former Irish President Mary Robinson, now an advocate for climate justice, said the tone in Santa Marta differed from traditional U.N. climate talks. Robinson said negotiators in those settings often follow “their lines,” but that Santa Marta’s discussions felt “more human together,” with what she described as an open and collaborative atmosphere among participants. She also said a central challenge raised in Santa Marta involved financial constraints facing developing countries that lack resources to transition away from fossil fuels.
Robinson said many developing countries need debt relief “to even begin a transition,” and warned that they are “trapped in debt” and over-dependent on fossil fuels because they have few viable alternatives. Alongside those concerns, participants described the gathering as early steps toward continued cooperation, the creation of working groups on issues such as financing and labor transitions, and momentum toward future negotiations aimed at coordinating a global phaseout of fossil fuels.
Financing was repeatedly described as the most immediate and difficult barrier to moving away from fossil fuels. Nick Robins, senior director for finance and the private sector at the World Resources Institute, said, “The financing is key, this is an investment issue,” describing the problem as one of access to capital rather than only climate ambition. Tzeporah Berman, founder and chair of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative, said countries may want to stop expanding fossil fuel production, but are pushed toward new oil, gas and coal projects to manage debt.
Ana Toni, the CEO of COP30 in Brazil, said participants discussed fiscal challenges tied to the transition and called on finance ministers to help find solutions for how to deal with them. Robins added that responses to crises—such as measures aimed at inflation—could also unintentionally slow progress. “A traditional response to inflation could actually be hampering the clean energy revolution,” he said.
Participants also described the conference as the beginning of a broader alliance, linking major economies with some of the world’s most climate-vulnerable nations. The event drew not only national governments but also Indigenous groups, civil society groups, youth representatives and subnational authorities, with organizers describing it as a space for countries aligned around moving away from fossil fuels. The United States was not invited, organizers said, though an official from California attended separately—Sarah Izant, deputy secretary for climate policy at the California Environmental Protection Agency.
Izant said clear policy signals would be critical to attracting investment, adding that policy and regulatory certainty can help unlock private capital. Vance Culbert, a senior policy adviser at the International Institute for Sustainable Development, said at the end of the conference that Santa Marta signaled growing momentum behind moving beyond broad climate commitments, describing the outcome as a “genuine demonstration” of appetite for specific solutions.
Indigenous participation also emerged as a concern as delegates left Santa Marta. Patricia Suárez, an adviser to the National Organization of Indigenous Peoples of the Colombian Amazon, said it was too early to assess outcomes and raised questions about whether Indigenous proposals would be reflected in the final documents. Suárez also questioned participation in newly announced initiatives, including a scientific advisory panel, and asked, “How are Indigenous peoples going to participate in that space?” Suárez said the transition must recognize the role Indigenous communities play in protecting ecosystems and confronting climate change, and she said, “We are the ones from our territories sustaining life,” adding that a just transition must bring justice to territories facing the worst impacts of the climate crisis.
In the final moment of the conference, organizers announced that the next meeting will be hosted in Tuvalu, with Ireland joining as co-host. Tuvalu’s minister of home affairs, climate change and environment, Maina Vakafua Talia, told The Associated Press earlier Wednesday that hosting the event would highlight real-world impacts of climate change and said, “If we are to address the climate change issue, we have to address the root cause, and the root cause is the fossil fuel industry.” He added that future meetings aim to produce more concrete steps, solutions and outcomes rather than “a free and flexible outcome,” and participants said the move was intended to bridge climate-vulnerable nations’ perspectives with those of wealthier economies as the process moves forward.