Around 60 nations are convening in Santa Marta, Colombia, on Friday for what organizers describe as the first global effort to plan a complete transition away from fossil fuels, though the gathering excludes the world's largest economies and energy consumers. The countries attending account for roughly a fifth of global fossil fuel supply, including Colombia, Australia and Nigeria, but major powers including the US, China and India are not participating in the talks.
Alternative to Stalled UN Process
The meeting comes as progress at the annual UN COP climate meetings has slowed because decisions depend on the consent of all participating nations, effectively giving large fossil fuel producers veto power over any agreements. At COP30, held in Brazil last November, efforts to agree on a roadmap away from fossil fuels failed because major oil producing nations would not consent to the plan. Delegates say the new meeting in Colombia is not meant to replace the COP process, but to complement it.
The gathering takes place as the US, the world's largest economy, has pushed back strongly in favor of coal, oil and gas under President Trump, while many other countries are said to be sitting on the fence about the scale and speed of their move away from fossil energy. Participants at the Santa Marta meeting believe the purpose of the gathering is to show countries that are hesitating about the transition that there is a critical mass moving in favor of renewables.
Energy Security Concerns Drive Debate
Conflict in the Middle East has pushed up oil prices in recent weeks, highlighting the risks of dependence on fossil fuels and bringing questions of energy security back into focus. Former Irish President Mary Robinson, who is attending the meeting as a founding member of The Elders group of former world leaders, said, "This is exactly why this conference matters now." She also said, "The urgency is multiplied. What's happening has worsened the fossil fuel crisis we're already in."
The dramatic events in the Straits of Hormuz and elsewhere are affecting the choices people are making about energy consumption. Prof Johan Rockström, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, said, "I've just stepped off an advisory board meeting with Mercedes-Benz, and they expressed what's happening as a success - a sharp rise in demand for electric vehicles in Europe." He added, "People are recognising they want energy independence - they don't want to be in the hands of a volatile oil and gas market."
UK Climate Envoy Rachel Kyte, who is attending the gathering, said, "We are committed to working with other countries to support those wishing to drive forward their transitions to clean and secure energy." She also said, "We have the experience of our transition to share and the recent experience of driving to energy security with our clean power mission."
Building Coalition Without Consensus
Katerine Petersen from think tank E3G, who is attending the meeting, said, "Ultimately you don't need all countries to drive global progress. You need a starting point." She added, "Then you need a coalition that can expand over time and show how it can and will be useful. And I think that's what we're expecting to see from Santa Marta."
The organisers stress that the meeting is not an alternative to COP, but they see it as playing a key role in reviving that process. Some of the leaders of the Brazilian COP will be in attendance in Santa Marta, and the main conclusions agreed there will become part of Brazil's roadmap away from fossil fuels, which the country has said it will publish before COP31 in Turkey in November.
Scientists say the chance to keep warming to safer levels and avoid the most damaging impacts is slipping away, and that once warming passes 1.5C, dangerous impacts become more likely and harder to reverse. Prof Rockström told BBC News, "We are inevitably going to crash through the 1.5C limit within the next three to five years." He also said, "Breaking through 1.5C means we enter a far more dangerous world - with more frequent and intense droughts, floods, fires and heatwaves - and we are already approaching critical tipping points in major Earth systems."
Why This Matters:
The absence of the US, China and India from this gathering underscores the fundamental challenge of coordinating global energy policy without the world's largest economies and fossil fuel consumers. With these nations representing the majority of global energy demand and production capacity, any transition framework that excludes them raises questions about practical implementation and economic competitiveness. The meeting's focus on energy security, driven by recent Middle East conflicts and oil price volatility, highlights legitimate concerns about supply stability that have historically justified diversified energy portfolios including fossil fuels. The shift away from consensus-based UN processes toward smaller coalitions may accelerate certain policy initiatives but could fragment international energy markets and create competitive disadvantages for nations bound by stricter commitments while others maintain flexibility in their energy mix.