The conference offered a calmer space to discuss fraught topics and how to convert words into actions, writes Lucas Parolin
A conference on transitioning away from fossil fuels, held in Santa Marta, Colombia, at the end of April did not bring any new commitments to phase out hydrocarbons, but it did look to keep the topic at the top of the climate agenda.
Delegates attended from about 60 countries, including some oil and gas-producing nations committed to advancing energy transition talks. Countries represented accounted for about a fifth of global oil production, a third of oil consumption and a third of the world's GDP, according to Colombian officials.
Colombia and the Netherlands — co-hosts of the conference — were looking to push the topic forward outside official UN channels. Despite the historic UN Cop 28 climate summit pledge in 2023, discussions on transitioning away from fossil fuels continue to face opposition from large hydrocarbon-producing and consuming countries, such as China, Russia, the US and Saudi Arabia, which tend to want the focus to be on reducing emissions, rather than fossil fuel output.
These countries were not invited because the conference was intended to work as a ‘coalition of the willing'. Only countries "already convinced and ready to work on solutions for the transition" were invited, the Colombian environment ministry's head of international affairs, Daniela Duran, said.
Santa Marta kept its focus on fossil fuels, according to non-governmental organisation Earth Insight's engagement director, Juan Pablo Osornio. Participants discussed "the input for combustion", rather than the resulting emissions, he said, adding that this could change the way countries address the topic in future. The debate is shifting from discussing climate change drivers — emissions — to their root cause — fossil fuels — something largely overlooked until Dubai.
The disruption to oil and gas supplies from the closure of the strait of Hormuz could make energy security, rather than climate change, the key driver of any acceleration in consumer moves away from these fuels. But fossil fuels are responsible for 80pc of all global emissions, according to a study by the Energy Transitions Commission, a global coalition of leaders from across the energy landscape committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2050.
Some countries invited to Santa Marta are still looking to only reduce emissions, but not necessarily fossil fuel usage and production. Canada and Norway stuck to their positions on production. And Nigeria — Africa's largest oil and gas producer — reiterated its call for a just transition for developing economies, saying countries should discuss a phase-down, not a phase-out, of fossil fuels.
Safe space
Santa Marta was not a place for new commitments, but a space for productive discussions on controversial topics. It aimed for "multilateralism without de facto vetoes" that is "capable of translating agreements into implementation", according to Colombia's environment minister, Irene Velez Torres. Three workstream plans were laid down, including one to help nations develop their own voluntary transition roadmaps. France presented one during the event, and Colombia published a draft document, intended to work as a potential template for other countries. Brazil is also working on one. The impact of Santa Marta on future Cop negotiations is difficult to assess, with the Turkish Cop 31 presidency putting progress in phasing out fossil fuels lower down the list of priorities.
No country has shown it is willing to propose putting transition on the summit agenda. But Cop 30's presidency has pledged to present a roadmap in Turkey. The ball is rolling, Osornio said, and conversations at Santa Marta and future phase-out conferences "will continue to push the issue of fossil fuels and will undoubtedly have an impact within the [UN Framework Convention on Climate Change]".
