The Colombian city of Santa Marta has become the political and scientific epicenter of the debate on how to move beyond oil, gas, and coal . It hosted the first Conference for the Transition Beyond Fossil Fuels, an event that brought together delegations from more than 50 countries, thousands of participants, and a strong presence of social movements.
For nearly a week, governments, experts, and organizations have been trying to answer a question that has been hanging in the air for years: how to plan, finance, and implement an orderly phase-out of fossil fuels without crippling economies and while ensuring social justice. The result is a process that is still in its early stages, but with decisions that point to a shift in climate diplomacy.
A new political process: the shift of fossil fuels to the center of the agenda
The Santa Marta Conference arose precisely from the perception that the Paris Agreement left a significant gap : it sets emissions reduction targets, but does not clearly define how the extraction and use of fossil fuels should be phased out. This gap has been the starting point for the Colombian meeting.
According to organizations like Ecologistas en Acción and the Climate Alliance, more than 50 governments have, for the first time, placed the phasing out of fossil fuels explicitly at the center of the global agenda . It's not just about talking about renewables or efficiency , but about setting a date and a plan for the decline of oil, gas, and coal.
This forum is conceived as complementary to formal UN negotiations , but with a different political framework: less participation from reluctant major producers and a greater role for countries willing to make commitments. The absence of powers such as the United States, China, and Saudi Arabia has resulted in a coalition of countries that, despite not being the largest emitters, account for more than half of global GDP and a significant portion of energy demand.
Colombian Environment Minister Irene Vélez, who chaired the talks, summarized the situation by stating that the participating countries "have decided not to resign themselves to an economy built on the destruction of life ." The political message is clear: the energy transition can no longer remain a slogan; it must translate into concrete decisions.
For six days, delegations discussed how to decarbonize their trade balances, reform tax systems, and reorient trade and investment to enable an orderly exit from fossil fuels. The result is not yet a treaty, but it is a working framework for the coming years.
The Scientific Panel on the Global Energy Transition (SPGET)
One of the main outcomes of the summit has been the creation of the Scientific Panel on the Global Energy Transition (SPGET) , conceived as a technical tool to help countries design realistic roadmaps compatible with the 1,5°C limit of the Paris Agreement.
According to the Colombian Ministry of Environment and organizations such as WWF, this new panel will have the task of identifying concrete options to reduce dependence on fossil fuels , analyzing the legal, financial and political barriers that hinder decarbonization and proposing solutions adapted to different national contexts.
SPGET is partly inspired by the workings of bodies such as the British committee on climate change, but incorporates a key feature: a strong representation of countries in the Global South and small island states such as Tuvalu or Vanuatu, which experience the climate crisis as an immediate threat and not as a distant horizon.
Their mission will be to explain in very concrete terms how to phase out oil, gas, and coal, sector by sector and country by country , with objectives and timelines compatible with scenarios that keep the temperature within a safe threshold. All of this, its proponents insist, must be done while shielding the scientific work from political and economic pressures.
The panel's structure will be defined between this first conference and the next, and is envisioned as "open and flexible ," allowing countries to join or lead specific initiatives with the support of the scientific community. It is expected that its analyses will inform both national decisions and the debates at upcoming climate summits.
Roadmaps, legal barriers and finances: the core of the debate
Beyond the creation of SPGET, the summit agreed on three main lines of work to guide the process. The first, perhaps the most visible, is the design of national roadmaps for the phase-out of fossil fuels , with sectoral timelines and targets.
Although each country will start from a different situation, the shared idea is that these roadmaps must be comprehensive : they cannot be limited to the objectives of environmental ministries, but must involve finance, energy, industry, labor, and economic planning. The aim is to avoid abrupt closures like the one Santa Marta itself experienced with the closure of two coal mines without prior planning.
A second line of action focuses on dismantling the legal and financial barriers that currently protect the fossil fuel industry. These include investment treaties that shield large corporations and allow them to sue states that attempt to legislate in favor of the climate, and the high levels of debt that compel many countries to continue exploiting fossil fuels to pay off their external debt.
Third, the process aims to transform supply and demand . It is not enough for consumers to reduce their use of fossil fuels if, at the same time, the extraction and transport infrastructure continues to expand. Hence the recurring reference to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Fossil Fuels, which proposes to curb the expansion of new projects.
The discussions have also addressed the role of fossil fuel subsidies and the public revenues associated with the sector , especially in Latin America. Cases like Colombia, where fuel subsidies have grown significantly in recent years, highlight the difficulty of reconciling short-term social protection with a credible decarbonization path.
European support, Spain's role and pressures on the Government
Europe has had a prominent presence in Santa Marta. Fourteen European Union countries, including Spain, have signed a joint declaration expressing their “firm support” for the process and praising the leadership of Colombia and the Netherlands as co-hosts of the conference.
In that document, European governments emphasize that the gradual phase-out of fossil fuels reduces economic and geopolitical vulnerabilities by decreasing exposure to price volatility, international conflicts, and the energy crises experienced in recent years.
The Spanish delegation played a prominent role. Third Vice-President and Minister for Ecological Transition, Sara Aagesen , participated in the high-level segment, arguing that advancing the energy transition means advancing sovereignty , reducing dependencies, and preventing future "fossil fuel wars."
Aagesen also highlighted the establishment of specific working groups on financing, trade, and roadmaps for the gradual phasing out of fossil fuels. She emphasized that what happened in Santa Marta represents “concrete steps” toward reaching the next climate summits with renewed political momentum.
In parallel, Spain and Colombia used the conference to renew their Memorandum of Understanding on energy transition , strengthening cooperation in renewable energy, sustainable mobility, and climate finance. This alliance aims to accelerate the decarbonization of both economies and share regulatory and technological expertise.
However, this external support has not prevented Spanish environmental organizations from increasing their pressure on the government. Groups such as WWF, Greenpeace, and Ecologistas en Acción are demanding a national plan with clear objectives, defined deadlines, taxes on the fossil fuel industry, and an end to the subsidies that continue to sustain the current model.
Binding treaty or voluntary commitments: the great diplomatic showdown
One of the fundamental debates that has permeated the conference is the dilemma between moving towards a binding international instrument to regulate the production of fossil fuels or continuing to rely on voluntary commitments and political declarations.
Several civil society organizations, along with legal and climate experts, maintain that the only path consistent with international climate law is a treaty that mandates keeping a significant portion of fossil fuel reserves underground. Without such a mechanism, they warn, there is a risk that promises will remain just empty words.
For now, the conference has merely acknowledged the political need for this new instrument , without setting a timetable or a formal negotiation mandate. For environmental groups, this is insufficient progress; for many governments, it represents a realistic first step in a particularly tense geopolitical context.
Representatives of platforms such as the Campaign for a Fossil Fuel Treaty interpret the current context as a clear sign of change: the transition beyond fossils is considered inevitable , and the real challenge lies in how to ensure that it is fair, gradual, and equitable.
The UN Under-Secretary-General for Climate Action, Selwin Hart, reminded everyone in Santa Marta that “all climate indicators are flashing red” and that the common factor remains the burning of fossil fuels. This serves as a reminder that, regardless of diplomatic progress, the climate clock keeps ticking.
Next stop: Tuvalu 2027 and the connection with the COPs
To continue the process, the participating countries have agreed to hold a second conference in early 2027 in Tuvalu , which will be co-chaired by this small Pacific island nation and Ireland. Shifting the epicenter of the debate to a particularly vulnerable nation is intended to send a powerful symbolic and political message.
Between the two events, an international coordination group will be created to forge alliances, avoid duplication with other initiatives, and prepare the content for future conferences. This group includes countries such as the United Kingdom, Denmark, Brazil, France, and the Marshall Islands, along with the co-hosts Colombia, the Netherlands, Tuvalu, and Ireland.
The results of the Santa Marta process will be shared with the COP30 Presidency , which will incorporate them into its roadmap, and will be aligned with the COP31 Action Agenda, scheduled to take place in Turkey. The intention is that the discussions at this forum will not remain separate from the UN Framework Convention, but will directly contribute to the overall assessments of the Paris Agreement.
In particular, the scientific and political work of SPGET is expected to contribute to the second Global Assessment , the mechanism that evaluates every five years whether or not the world is on track to meet the 1,5°C target. If confirmed, the Santa Marta Summit would solidify its position as a key platform within the complex framework of climate governance.
Organizations like the Climate Alliance see this continuity as an opportunity to prevent the process from becoming a mere “impression gathering.” The real test, they warn, will come when concrete evidence of implementation must be presented in Tuvalu and at the upcoming COPs.
Social mobilization and indigenous peoples: climate justice on the front lines
While the official sessions were underway, Santa Marta also hosted a People's Summit , bringing together Indigenous communities, international organizations, youth movements, and social groups from several continents. Its objective: to place climate justice at the heart of the discussion.
At that parallel summit, a declaration was approved linking the climate crisis to the dynamics of capitalism, colonialism, and militarism , and demanding that countries in the Global North recognize and assume their ecological debt to the regions most affected by global warming.
The street protests, under slogans like “a fossil-free future,” have served to remind governments that phasing out fossil fuels is not optional , but a condition for survival. The question, according to spokespeople for platforms like Gas Is Not the Solution, is how to ensure that this transition is both rapid and fair.
The demands of civil society have been articulated around three main axes: progressive elimination of fossil fuels, effective financing for developing countries and recognition of the ecological debt of the historically most polluting economies.
In this context, Indigenous peoples from Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Oceania have had a highly visible presence , insisting that their territories can no longer be sacrifice zones for resource extraction. Representatives from the Amazon, the Andes, and other communities have called for keeping fossil fuels and other resources underground and for a commitment to alternative development models.
During the pre-assembly of Indigenous peoples, the demand was clear: protect Indigenous territories from oil, gas, coal, and mineral extraction ; guarantee genuine prior consultation; and respect communities as the rightful owners of their lands. This message was subsequently carried by several leaders to the high-level segment of the conference.
Latin American dimension and experiences in just transition
Latin America has arrived in Santa Marta with a dual nature: on the one hand, a strong dependence on fossil fuel rents ; on the other, enormous potential for renewable energies and new value chains linked to critical minerals such as lithium or copper.
Data on reserves and subsidies illustrate the scale of the challenge. The region holds a significant share of the world's oil and gas , and countries like Colombia have notably increased their fuel subsidies in recent years, reaching nearly 2% of GDP, according to energy monitoring platforms.
In response, the Latin American process surrounding Santa Marta proposes three main components for a just transition . First, a labor retraining program with guaranteed rights, which goes beyond simply changing jobs, ensuring social protection, pensions, and collective bargaining for workers in the fossil fuel industries.
Secondly, a diversification of tax revenues through carbon taxes, levies on the windfall profits of fossil fuel companies and a gradual elimination of subsidies, starting with those that primarily benefit large industrial consumers.
The third component focuses on developing value chains linked to the clean economy . The region, which currently exports most of its minerals unprocessed, aims to generate more employment and local wealth by linking extraction to the manufacturing of components for renewable energy technologies and energy storage.
Experiences like that of Santa Marta, where the abrupt closure of coal mines triggered a local economic crisis, have been cited as examples of what happens when a transition is not planned . Today, communities, workers, and universities in the area are experimenting with new livelihoods, seeking to demonstrate that another economy is possible if implemented in an orderly manner.
Science, local knowledge and well-being at the heart of the transition
The scientific dimension of the summit was not limited to the SPGET announcement. Prior to the announcement, an academic pre-conference was organized in which researchers from different countries, together with local communities, discussed how to place scientific evidence and other knowledge at the heart of public decisions.
The Colombian Ministry of Environment has emphasized the importance of integrating academic knowledge with other forms of knowledge , including Indigenous and community worldviews. The goal is to ensure that policies are not designed without considering the perspectives of those living in the affected territories.
In these debates, the idea that the energy transition must put well-being at its core has gained traction . It's not just about reducing emissions, but about improving health, quality of life, and equity in access to opportunities, preventing the transition from exacerbating existing inequalities.
Academic spokespeople will present these conclusions to policymakers from more than 50 countries during the high-level segment, in the presence of figures such as Colombian President Gustavo Petro and various climate and energy ministers, including the Spanish Minister for Ecological Transition.
For much of the scientific community and civil society, the great challenge now is to ensure that these recommendations do not remain mere reference documents, but rather shape budgets, regulations, and investment decisions in the coming years.
The Santa Marta Summit leaves behind a bittersweet feeling: on the one hand, the launch of a political and scientific process that finally addresses the phasing out of fossil fuels head-on; on the other, the still-absent legally binding commitments, firm timelines, and sufficient funding . Much of the climate policy of the next decade will be played out between these two extremes, with Spain and the European Union called upon to strengthen their role if they want the transition to be not only inevitable but also rapid, fair, and credible.