Organisers of high-level climate summit in Colombia say 'we must transition away from fossil fuels'
The two-day segment of ministers and senior officials marks the political centerpiece of the First Conference on Transitioning away from Fossil Fuels, where more than 50 countries have been discussing how to move away from oil, gas and coal.
World leaders have gathered in Colombia's Santa Marta for the first-ever global talks to accelerate the shift away from fossil fuels, a step participating nations say is not just a climate priority but vital for energy independence.
The two-day summit of ministers and senior officials marks the political centerpiece of the First Conference on Transitioning away from Fossil Fuels, where more than 50 countries have been discussing how to move away from oil, gas and coal — the main drivers of global warming — toward cleaner energy.
The conference was announced last year after the official UN COP30 climate summit ended in Brazil, which failed to include an explicit reference to fossil fuels in its final deal.
The meeting reflects growing frustration among some governments and advocates that decades of UN climate negotiations have failed to directly address fossil fuel production, prompting the Santa Marta summit to push the issue outside formal talks.
Recent negotiations have acknowledged the need for a transition, but countries remain divided over how to implement it and how to finance the shift.
“The conclusion is unavoidable, we must transition away from fossil fuels — not just because it’s good for climate, but because it strengthens our energy independence and security,” said Stientje van Veldhoven, minister for climate policy and green growth for the Netherlands, which is co-hosting the conference with Colombia.
"We in Europe...are losing half a billion euros each day this war continues," the EU's climate envoy Wopke Hoekstra told delegates.
"We already had a very good reason to move on (from fossil fuels) for climate action...We now also have it for commercial reasons, and reasons of independence."
Energy independence in the wake of the Iran war
Organisers also say the Middle East war, which has throttled Gulf energy exports, has underscored the urgency of breaking fossil fuel dependence.
"Some people use independence, some people use sovereignty, but basically they need energy security," the UK's climate envoy Rachel Kyte told AFP in Santa Marta.
"Increasingly, the world is concluding that fossil fuels are a source of instability."
Even as record investments flow into renewable energy, scientists warn the pace is still too slow to keep global temperature rises to safer levels.
The world has already warmed about 1.4C above pre-industrial times and is tracking to blow past 1.5C in a matter of years.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro warned that “the Amazon rainforest is burning,” adding that “without it we reach a point of no return.”
He said UN climate talks have fallen short, arguing that “the unity of states has failed” and calling for broader action beyond governments.
Petro also linked current conflicts to energy dependence, saying “the wars we are seeing are driven by desperate geopolitical strategies around fossil resources.”
Reducing reliance on fossil fuels a challenge
On the list of attendees are major fossil fuel producers Canada, Norway and Australia, and developing oil giants Nigeria, Angola and Brazil.
They join coal-reliant emerging markets Turkey and Vietnam, and small island nations extremely vulnerable to climate shocks, among others.
But the world's biggest emitters of greenhouse gases, including the United States, China and India, are not attending, nor are oil-rich Gulf states.
The conference is not expected to produce binding commitments but a set of proposals for countries wanting to gradually swap out fossil fuel production and consumption for cleaner forms of energy.
This is a particular challenge for developing countries heavily reliant on oil and gas revenue, like hosts Colombia.
On Tuesday, France unveiled a fossil fuel "roadmap" setting deadlines to phase out coal by 2030, oil by 2045 and gas by 2050 for energy purposes.
Nations will discuss how to pursue these plans, as well as reforming fossil fuel subsidies that throw up barriers to renewable energy investment, among other issues.
Organizers say the conference is intended to build political momentum and bring together countries willing to accelerate the transition outside the formal UN process.
It is also seen as a steppingstone toward upcoming global climate negotiations, where financing and timelines for reducing fossil fuel use are expected to remain key points of debate.
EU backs ending new oil and gas drilling
The war in the Middle East may have driven up oil and gas demand, but the world should still ditch new fossil fuel drilling, EU climate chief Wopke Hoekstra has said, insisting on "affordable, reliable, homegrown clean energy."
The world should end new fossil fuel drilling, EU Climate Action Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra has said, adding that global energy security depends on reducing oil and gas dependency.
Speaking on Tuesday at an international conference in Santa Marta, Colombia, aimed at quitting oil, gas and coal for good, the EU climate chief said that science-driven, measurable steps should be identified to support the transition from fossil fuels. "Science matters in climate change. And transitioning away from fossil fuels is a very tangible way to follow science," he said.
The First International Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels, gathering 60 countries, including some major oil producers, comes at a timely moment.
Global demand for oil and natural gas has surged in the wake of the US-led war against Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital trade passage. Nonetheless, the European Union insists that the long-term goal of clean power is more necessary than ever.
But as EU ministers scramble to secure supplies amid soaring energy prices, some countries are considering tapping their fossil fuel reserves for a rescue.
Even before the recent market disruptions, Greece issued its first offshore oil and gas exploration license in over four decades. Italy is also considering reviving offshore oil and gas exploration, which was suspended in 2019.
Rome and Berlin have also suggested a temporary return to coal to remedy soaring electricity prices.
However, Hoekstra said the clean energy transition remained the best long-term response. "We need to reduce our fossil fuel dependence for our energy security. We cannot be at the mercy of regimes holding up our resources," he said.
"As long as we rely on fossil fuels, we are vulnerable to volatility and external pressure. What is the answer? To double down on affordable, reliable, homegrown clean energy. To move faster towards a clean, electrified energy system. For climate, but also for security, resilience, competitiveness and independence."
Hoekstra called for a doubling of energy efficiency, a tripling of renewables by 2030 and more electrification to prevent vulnerabilities to price and supply shocks from global markets.
He also said that the annual United Nations COP climate meetings were not moving fast and far enough.
"We all know that the COP process is unfortunately not always delivering what it should. That means we need to improve that. But at the same time, we also need to ensure that we make the most of these plurilateral initiatives,” he said, as he thanked Brazil for tabling the initiative to transition away from fossil fuels at the COP30 last November.
Momentum for COP31
Denmark, Ireland, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom are among the European nations represented in Santa Marta, a global conference that was planned long before the conflict in the Middle East.
Rachel Kyte, the UK’s Special Representative for Climate, said the blocking of the Strait of Hormuz had forced countries around the world to pivot to clean energy, adding that the UK is eager to "support those wishing to drive forward their transitions to clean and secure energy."
“We have the experience of our transition to share and the recent experience of driving to energy security with our clean power mission," Kyte told Euronews.
Spanish Energy and Environment Minister Sara Aagesen hailed the Santa Marta gathering as a “success” that will generate alliances and consensus to sustain the momentum leading up to COP31 in Turkey.
“Fossil fuel dependency makes us incredibly vulnerable,” Aagesen said. "We need to bet on this clean energy agenda. We have our own success story, which has allowed us to be less dependent and more shielded from energy spike prices."
Seeking consensus among oil producers
Several major oil-producing nations, including Canada, Norway, Brazil and Nigeria, are taking part in Santa Marta. Others, such as the United States and Russia, were not invited due to what Colombia’s Environment Minister Irene Vélez Torres described as “openly extractivist” positions.
China, the world’s largest consumer of coal and oil, was also barred, as its status as the top global emitter would make commitments to phasing out fossil fuels particularly challenging, Torres noted.
Torres said the countries gathered in Santa Marta were a "coalition of the willing" intended to bypass the gridlock often caused by major fossil-fuel producers in UN climate talks.
Climate researchers at the Santa Marta event presented scientific workshops, including on the potential impact on public health and jobs in a world no longer reliant on fossil fuel production and use.
While no major new initiatives are expected to emerge from the meeting, the goal is to identify collective actions that would be difficult to achieve individually.
"We are opening a new chapter of global political discussion which, naturally, won't solve all the challenges on a single conference," Torres told reporters. "What matters here is the declaration of what we're willing to do to end fossil fuel dependency."
Europe revives renewables and nuclear to address the energy crisis
Brussels is looking for a long-term fix, putting both renewables and nuclear back on the table after the Strait of Hormuz closure sent energy bills soaring. Watch the video!
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has caused energy prices to surge across Europe. Brussels states that the solution is to accelerate the permanent transition away from fossil fuels.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen put the cost bluntly on April 13: €22 billion in additional fossil fuel import bills in just 44 days since the US-Iran conflict began, with no extra energy to show for it.
She recommends expanding renewables and nuclear, which already provide over 70% of Europe's electricity. However, the Commission identifies key challenges: limited storage, outdated grids, and wasted clean power. Brussels is expediting its grid modernisation package for implementation this summer.
Nuclear energy has returned to the forefront of the debate, with 15 member states supporting it through the European Nuclear Alliance. There is also growing momentum to deploy Small Modular Reactors in the early 2030s.
On April 22, the Commission announced an emergency package that includes coordinated EU gas storage, joint oil reserve releases, household income support, and expedited flexible state aid rules.
This marks Europe's second major energy crisis in three years. Brussels says that the objective is not to manage future shocks, but to prevent them.
France unveils roadmap to ditch all fossil
fuels by 2050
Santa Marta (Colombia) (AFP) – France on Tuesday announced a "first of its kind" plan to phase out coal by 2030, oil by 2045 and gas by 2050 during a global conference aimed at breaking reliance on fossil fuels.
Issued on: 29/04/2026 - RFI
The "roadmap" was published as dozens of nations gather in Santa Marta, Colombia for the first-ever international talks on how to transition away from planet-heating fossil fuels.
France's roadmap does not present new pledges but brings existing climate and energy policies and targets under one umbrella with an explicit goal.
Analysts said no other country had published such a clear and comprehensive plan and it sent an important signal at a moment when countries are reassessing their reliance on fossil fuels.
France's envoy at the conference, Benoit Faraco, said the roadmap set deadlines for the end of fossil fuel use across the economy, the second-largest in Europe.
Coal would be phased out by 2030, oil by 2045 and gas by 2050 for energy purposes, the roadmap said.
"That's quite original, because we are probably one of the rarest countries who have a clear deadline for all fossil fuel energy," he told reporters in Santa Marta.
France only generates a fraction of its electricity from hydrocarbons, thanks to its extensive nuclear power generation.
But Faraco said the roadmap also committed to phasing out fossil fuel production, electrifying sectors like heating and transport, and helping finance the transition in other countries.
It formalises France's existing targets for reducing greenhouse gas pollution – namely to reduce emissions by five percent a year over the 2024-2028 period with the goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.
France's cuts to greenhouse gas emissions slowed for a second straight year in 2025 and remain well below what is needed to meet its climate goals.
First mover
Fossil fuel roadmaps differ to national pledges to reduce emissions or "net zero" plans because they have an explicit end goal, said Leo Roberts, an energy analyst at the E3G think tank.
The French roadmap "self describes itself as a document that sets out of a pathway for a country to transition the whole economy away from fossil fuels," Roberts told AFP in Santa Marta.
"In that sense, it is the first of its kind."
Faraco said France decided to push ahead on its own after a proposal for a global fossil fuel roadmap was blocked at the Cop30 climate summit in November.
Brazil, which was steering the climate negotiations, agreed to pursue a voluntary roadmap process instead and has asked willing countries to make submissions.
Frustration at Cop30 led to the creation of the Santa Marta conference, which is taking place outside the UN process and is being co-hosted by Colombia and the Netherlands.
Nearly 60 nations are attending, from the European Union and major fossil fuel producers Canada and Norway, to developing oil giants Angola and Nigeria and small island developing states like Tuvalu.
Nations are not expected to produce any binding commitments but a set of proposals for countries wanting to move their own economies away from fossil fuel reliance.
The conference takes place against a backdrop of soaring fuel prices and a global supply crunch stemming from the Iran war, and energy security has been a prominent theme.
More than 50 countries are meeting in Colombia on Tuesday to push forward plans for phasing out planet-heating fossil fuels – with new urgency driven by geopolitical tensions.
Issued on: 28/04/2026 - RFI
The Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels conference, held in the Caribbean city of Santa Marta and co-hosted by Colombia and the Netherlands, will see high-level talks between ministers and climate envoys on Tuesday and Wednesday.
It comes at a tense moment, amid volatility in global energy markets triggered by the conflict in the Middle East, underlining that the transition from fossil fuels is a strategic necessity as well as an environmental one.
Strategic invitations
Participants include EU member states – Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany. Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain, Sweden and France – as well as the United Kingdom, and Switzerland.
Countries from Africa, Asia and Latin America, plus small island nations on the front line of climate change, are also in attendance, as are several major fossil fuel producers with mixed climate records – including Australia, Canada, Norway, Brazil and Mexico.
Notably absent, however, are the United States, Saudi Arabia, Russia, China and India.
For Colombia’s Environment Minister Irene Velez Torres, who is spearheading the initiative, however, their absence is not a drawback.
"We didn’t expect those who are sceptical of a just transition programme to participate," she told RFI. "We invited countries that have recognised the importance and urgency of phasing out fossil fuels – in an orderly, just but also urgent manner."
By limiting participation to more committed players, organisers hope to foster what Velez Torres described as "a more honest conversation".
Analysts suggest this strategy could pay off.
Katerine Petersen of the E3G think tank argues the summit could create momentum that will eventually draw in more reluctant players.
"China doesn’t necessarily want to stay on the sidelines for long," she said. "The goal is to send the signal that this is a table where it’s strategically important to take a seat."
Financial support
A panel of leading scientists has been convened to support governments with evidence-based guidance. A preliminary report produced for the event outlines 12 possible actions, from halting new fossil fuel extraction projects to ending subsidies and tightening regulations on industry advertising.
Colombia is also using the platform to highlight its own efforts. Its government has stopped granting new hydrocarbon exploration contracts and is attempting to shift its economy away from extractive industries.
"We must now quickly replace the extractive economy with a productive economy based on other value chains," said Velez Torres. But she is candid about the scale of the challenge, noting the country still relies heavily on oil and coal revenues and must overhaul its fiscal system.
Developing nations need 'trillions' as climate finance takes centre stage at Cop28
The issue of finance looms large. Developing countries, in particular, say they cannot move forward without significant financial support.
"We cannot phase out fossil fuels without addressing the central question: who pays for the transition?" said Ryad Selmani of French NGO CCFD-Terre Solidaire, pointing to the continued profits of major energy companies.
Selma Huart of Oxfam France added that developing nations may need between $455 billion (€393 billion) and $2.4 trillion (€2 trillion) per year by 2030, compared with roughly $35 billion (€29 billion) currently available.
"Without massive, predictable, and accessible climate finance, the global phase-out of fossil fuels will remain out of reach," she warned.
Shifting global context
While no major binding agreements are expected to emerge, the conference aims to produce a report outlining practical solutions and areas of consensus ahead of the next United Nations climate summit in Turkey later this year.
We don’t expect this conference to solve all the problems," said Petersen. "But a clear outline of key actions could help countries align."
Disruptions to energy supply chains – such as the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz – have provided added impetus, driving up oil prices and exposing vulnerabilities in fossil fuel dependence.
"There are other reasons to want to move away from fossil fuels: to be less vulnerable to these crises," said climate policy researcher Nicolas Berghmans.
Around 60 countries have introduced measures linked to electrification or energy demand reduction since the latest Middle East crisis began, while others have moved to cushion consumers through subsidies or tax cuts.
The debate is increasingly framed in terms of security as well as sustainability. "Moving away from fossil fuels is not an ideological choice, but a strategic necessity," said Gaia Febvre of Climate Action Network.
Even traditionally cautious governments are adapting their message. In the UK, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband recently argued that "the era of security based on fossil fuels is over".
Rising demand
Despite growing investment in clean energy – now roughly double that of fossil fuels – coal, oil and gas still account for more than 80 percent of global energy use. Demand continues to rise, meaning new energy sources often add to, rather than replace, existing ones.
Many countries remain dependent on fossil fuels, while others still see them as a pathway to development.
Kumi Naidoo, head of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative, challenges that logic.
Investing in new fossil fuel infrastructure, he argues, risks locking countries into costly and ultimately unsustainable systems. "They will end up with stranded assets… and a worse economic situation," he said.
For Velez Torres, this week's conference's aim is to ensure countries "decide that the time has come to radically advance an ecological agenda on energy and transition".
This article has been adapted from the original version in French by Géraud Bosman-Delzons,
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