First Talks To Ditch Fossil Fuels As UN Deadlock Deepens

Around 60 nations have gathered in Santa Marta, Colombia, for an unprecedented summit aimed at charting a complete move away from coal, oil and gas, as frustration grows over the UN climate process where major fossil fuel producers hold an effective veto.

The two-day meeting, which begins on Friday, represents the first global effort to directly tackle fossil fuel production rather than just emissions. Attendees include Colombia, Australia, Nigeria, Canada, the UK, Norway and several EU nations – accounting for roughly a fifth of global fossil fuel supply. However, major powers including the US, China, India, Saudi Arabia and Russia are not participating.

The gathering comes after last November's COP30 in Brazil failed to agree a roadmap away from fossil fuels, with major oil-producing nations blocking the plan. Under the UN system, decisions require consensus from all parties, giving large fossil fuel exporters an effective veto over climate action.

"The conference is that turning point where, collectively, we decide to be on the right side of history," Colombia's Environment Minister Irene Vélez Torres told the Associated Press ahead of the summit .

Organisers stress the Santa Marta meeting is not intended to replace the COP process but to complement and potentially revive it. Delegates describe it as a "coalition of the willing" – countries prepared to move faster on the transition while showing hesitant nations that a critical mass is shifting toward renewables.

"We are committed to working with other countries to support those wishing to drive forward their transitions to clean and secure energy," said UK Climate Envoy Rachel Kyte.

Unlike formal UN negotiations, the conference will not produce binding commitments. Instead, it aims to generate concrete proposals on legal, economic and social measures needed to reduce fossil fuel dependence, including discussion of phasing out the approximately $920 billion in annual fossil fuel subsidies.

The urgency has been amplified both by climate science and geopolitical events. Scientists warn that the chance to keep warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels is slipping away rapidly.

"We are inevitably going to crash through the 1.5°C limit within the next three to five years," Prof Johan Rockström, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, told BBC News. "Breaking through 1.5°C means we enter a far more dangerous world".

Simultaneously, the recent Iran war has triggered oil price spikes and supply disruptions, highlighting the risks of fossil fuel dependence and bringing energy security concerns into sharp focus. Colombian Environment Minister Vélez argued the crisis should accelerate rather than delay the green transition: "The movement should be toward radicalising the green agenda".

Despite the optimism, participants acknowledge significant hurdles. An eventual fossil fuel phaseout would need to address investor-state disputes, potential compensation claims from fossil fuel companies, and the livelihoods of millions who depend on the industry.

"It's implementation time, no more discussions on ambitions," a spokesperson for the Dutch climate minister told DW. But experts caution the talks won't act as "a magic wand" to clear away decades of obstacles.

The conference runs from April 24 to 29 in Santa Marta, with civil society groups and academics participating in early discussions before political representatives join for the final two days. Conclusions agreed there are expected to feed into Brazil's roadmap away from fossil fuels, to be published before COP31 in Turkey this November.