First dots on the road map to exiting fossil fuels

Lead

Ministers, climate advocates and financial experts from more than 50 countries have concluded the first international conference devoted exclusively to transitioning away from fossil fuels, held in the Colombian coastal city of Santa Marta. Co-hosted by Colombia and the Netherlands, the gathering produced a set of agreed outcomes and laid groundwork for continued cooperation on shifting economies toward cleaner energy, according to reporting by Deutsche Welle and The Guardian.

The conference, which The Guardian reported ran from 24 to 29 April, brought together what participants described as a coalition of the willing. Attendees included representatives of the European Union, the United Kingdom, Turkey, Australia, Brazil, Mexico, Nigeria, Angola and Canada, among others. The Guardian noted that participants collectively account for roughly one-fifth of global fossil fuel production and about one-third of demand. Major producers and consumers including China, India, the United States, Russia, Iran and Japan did not attend.

Maina Vakafua Talia, Tuvalu’s minister for home affairs, climate change and environment, told delegates they were “making history,” a remark carried by Deutsche Welle. Organisers and participants framed the meeting as a response to the difficulty of advancing concrete fossil-fuel phase-out plans inside the consensus-based United Nations climate process.

Coverage comparison

Deutsche Welle and The Guardian both presented the Santa Marta meeting as a historic first step outside the formal COP framework, emphasising the complexity of moving away from coal, oil and gas and the different challenges facing exporters and importers. Deutsche Welle focused on diplomatic process, national roadmaps already in place, and the practical difficulties facing countries such as Colombia, whose economy depends on coal exports including to Germany and other parts of Europe. Its reporting highlighted structural transformation costs, potential legal claims by mining companies, and the need for alternative employment and income sources.

The Guardian placed stronger emphasis on geopolitical urgency and the limitations of the UN process. It linked the timing of the conference to recent oil-price pressure associated with conflict involving Iran and disruption around the Strait of Hormuz, and quoted U.S. climate campaigner Bill McKibben observing that sunlight “travels 93 million miles to reach Earth—none of them through the Strait of Hormuz.” The Guardian also underscored that COP28 in Dubai in 2023 was the first UN climate conference to address fossil fuels directly in an outcome document, while subsequent efforts to build a detailed framework had stalled. It reported that a group of prominent scientists would draft material to help countries develop national transition roadmaps, and that debt relief featured among the topics under discussion.

On the calendar for follow-up talks, the two outlets diverged. Deutsche Welle reporting variously placed the next meeting in Tuvalu in 2027 or “next year.” The Guardian did not resolve the date. Both outlets noted the absence of a binding treaty or single definitive roadmap from this year’s gathering.

Key claims

• The first conference dedicated to transitioning away from fossil fuels took place in Santa Marta, Colombia, hosted by Colombia and the Netherlands with participation from more than 50 countries (Deutsche Welle; The Guardian).
• The Guardian reported the dates as 24–29 April and put attendance at 54 countries plus subnational governments, representing about one-fifth of global fossil-fuel production and one-third of demand.
• Participating producers included Brazil, Mexico, Nigeria, Angola and Canada; China, India, the United States, Russia, Iran and Japan did not attend (The Guardian).
• The timing of the next meeting in Tuvalu is reported inconsistently as 2027 or “next year” across Deutsche Welle accounts.
• France presented an existing phase-out timeline of coal by 2027, oil by 2045 and fossil gas by 2050, without new commitments (Deutsche Welle).
• Germany’s 2019 Coal Commission produced a plan to end coal-fired power by 2038; Deutsche Welle reported internal differences between the Environment Ministry’s push to accelerate renewables and Economy Minister Katherina Reiche’s support for policies that would prolong fossil-fuel use. Germany was represented by Jochen Flasbarth rather than a minister.
• EU climate chief Wopke Hoekstra said Europe’s fossil-fuel import bill rose by more than €22 billion in roughly two months without any additional energy units (Deutsche Welle).
• Global fossil-fuel subsidies were cited at around $920 billion (Deutsche Welle).
• According to think-tank Ember, cited by The Guardian, global solar generation rose by about one-third last year while fossil generation stayed flat.
• Deutsche Welle reported that 91 percent of the planet recorded warmer-than-average surface air temperatures last year, and that scientists project Tuvalu could disappear by 2100 under rising seas.
• No defining roadmap or treaty was expected from the conference this year; further technical work and national roadmaps are planned (The Guardian; Deutsche Welle).

Perspectives

Colombian officials and host-country voices stressed economic independence and the exclusion of obstruction. Irene Vélez Torres said the conference would not include “boycotters or climate denialists” and would prioritise economic independence from fossil-fuel production, according to The Guardian. President Gustavo Petro linked contemporary conflicts to “desperate geopolitical strategies around fossil resources,” as reported by Deutsche Welle.

Pacific and Latin American participants underscored vulnerability and the need for new legal architecture. Tuvalu’s Maina Vakafua Talia cast the talks as historic multilateral cooperation. Ghana’s Cedric Dzelu called for a fossil-fuel treaty that creates “the necessary architecture for a just transition,” while Panama’s Juan Carlos Monterrey described fossil fuels as “unreliable” and “dangerous” and said they must end (Deutsche Welle).

European and former international figures highlighted finance and process differences. Stientje van Veldhoven said affordable financing would be essential for a global transition. Former Irish president Mary Robinson contrasted the more collaborative atmosphere in Santa Marta with the formality of COP negotiations, where “negotiators have lines they will not cross” (Deutsche Welle). Academic Natalie Jones, quoted by The Guardian, said governments stand “at a crossroads” between doubling down on fossil fuels or accelerating the shift to renewables.