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.
