First Transitioning Away Conference Claims Historic Breakthrough

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May 13, 2026

First Transitioning Away Conference Claims Historic Breakthrough

RITURAJ PHUKAN

The ‘First International Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels’ ended at Santa Marta, Colombia, with theparticipating countries agreeing to develop voluntary roadmaps to phase out fossil fuels. The conference, jointly organized by the governments of Colombia and the Netherlands, was a result of continuous stalemate over the core issue of transitioning away from oil, gas and coal, and was announced after the frustrating outcome of last years COP30 in Belem.

This newinitiative represents a notable shift from the traditional annual UN climate negotiations, which have persisted for over thirty years despite ongoing increases in greenhouse gas emissions. The 59 participating countries did not include any of the world’s largest emitters but represented a new “coalition of the willing,” referring to the countries willing to commit to a phaseout.

The notable absentees include the United States of America, China, India, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, but almost half of the countries present are fossil fuel producers. This coalition of 59 countries represents more than half of global GDP, nearly a third of energy demand and a fifth of fossil fuel supply.

Over five days, conversations centered on three key themes: reducing economic dependence on fossil fuels, transforming supply and demand, advancing international cooperation. The conference ended with five key outcomes to set in motion an action-oriented course for countries to support each other in advancing the transition away from fossil fuels.

1. A sustained commitment to deliver: the second conference for transitioning away has been announced for 2027. It will be co-hosted by Tuvalu and Ireland, with the main conference taking place in Tuvalu and a pre-conference meeting in Ireland. 

2. Strengthening connections, avoiding duplication: a coordination group will ensure continuity towards the second and subsequent conferences. It will consist of countries leading different alliances and initiatives that are implementing elements of the transition away from fossil fuels, and of the co-hosts of the first and second conferences Colombia, the Netherlands, Tuvalu and Ireland. They will connect with the COP30 Activation Group 4: Transitioning away from fossil fuels in a just, orderly and equitable manner. 

3. Ensuring complementarity with UNFCCC, existing frameworks and sustaining momentum by handing over the conference report to the COP30 Presidency to inform its roadmap, sharing it ahead of the intersessional meetings of UNFCCC in Bonn in June, formally presenting it at London Climate Action Week, and to the UN Secretary-General of the United Nations during New York Climate Week. Finally, the group will work with the incoming COP presidencies to align the outcomes of this conference with the Global Climate Action Agenda and to channel these contributions toward the second Global Stocktake (GST2).

4. Channellingthe collective power: three workstreams will be established, focused on identifying concrete opportunities and channels for cooperation to overcome fossil fuel dependencies in preparation for the second conference. Workstreams will remain open and flexible, allowing countries to join or lead, supported by existing initiatives and drawing on experts and members of the Santa Marta process as needed.

Workstreams will include:

a. Work on roadmaps: this workstream will aim to connect countries with the Science Panel on the Global Energy Transition and the NDC Partnership. It will help countries develop roadmaps and align them with their NDCs. It will also facilitate cooperation between countries willing to provide and receive support for implementation. 

b. Work on macroeconomic dependencies and financial architecture: together with IISD we will look for the necessary expertise to help leverage collective capacities to support the necessary changes in financial systems, unlock finance and investment flows required for the transition, and determine who needs to be involved. This workstream will include a focus on debt constraints, as well as on financial incentives and subsidies.

c. Work on producer–consumer alignment for fossil fuel transition: supported by the OECD, this workstream will engage with other experts to work towards mapping opportunities and ways to connect fossil fuel producers and consumers, that supports the decarbonization of trade balances, advancing progress toward a fossil fuel–free trade system.

Aside from economic diversification, this workstream will consider how to make transitions people-centered and territorially grounded, therefore tackling the revenue exchange problem, while advancing energy sovereignty.

The second conference will take stock of progress.

5. Science as our anchor for shaping the future:The Science Panel for the Global Energy Transition (SPGET) was launched to support countries in overcoming dependence on fossil fuels. It will do so by helping develop roadmaps aligned with the 1.5°C trajectory, aimed at dismantling legal, financial, and political barriers to the energy transition.

Earlier, apowerful global coalitionorganized the People’s Summit for a Fossil Free Future, the civil society counterpart to the historic first ‘transitioning away’ conference launched the People’s Declaration for a Rapid,Equitable, and Just Transition toward a Fossil-Free Future. Comprising of civil society organizations, frontline communities, Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendants, women, youth, and workers, the Declarationlaunched by the People’s Summit outlines a clear plan for a fair transition focusedon human rights, energy democracy, and climate justice.

To start off the conference, the Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development of Colombia, Irene Vélez Torres, announced the creation of the Scientific Panel for the Global Energy Transition (SPGET), the first of its kind worldwide to advise nations on concrete actions towards a transition beyond fossil fuels.The announcement was made together with renowned international scientists such as Johan Rockström, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research; Carlos Nobre, a Brazilian scientist and expert in the Amazon; and Gilberto M. Jannuzzi, from the State University of Campinas, in Brazil.

This panel will bring together some of the world’s best scientists in climate, economics and technology, who will provide inputs for the construction and strengthening of relevant, urgent and concrete actions, backed by the best available evidence to deliver recommendations regarding the design of public policies aimed at the progressive exit from fossil fuels.

The co-hosts Colombia and the Netherlands convened discussions on trade, debt, producer countries’ dependence on fossil fuel exports and ways to reduce demand.Participants discussed that overcoming economic dependence on fossil fuels is not only a matter of replacing one source of public revenue or promoting isolated green sectors, but of transforming the productive, territorial, and social conditions that have sustained fossil fuel dependence and associated vulnerabilities.

Photos by IISD/ENB | Mike Muzurakis

RITURAJ PHUKAN : Founder, Indigenous People’s Climate Justice Forum; Co-Founder, Smily Academy ;National Coordinator for Biodiversity, The Climate Reality Project India; Member, IUCN Wilderness Specialist Group; Commission Member – IUCN WCPA Climate Change, IUCN WCPA Connectivity Conservation, IUCN WCPA Indigenous People and Protected Areas Specialist Groups, IUCN WCPA South Asia Region and IUCN WCPA-SSC Invasive Alien Species Task Force; Member, International Antarctic Expedition 2013; Climate Force Arctic 2019 ; Ambassador, Marine Arctic Peace Sanctuary. Rituraj Phukan is the Climate Editor, Mahabahu and the  Convenor, Mahabahu Climate Forum.

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