Representatives from more than 50 countries are meeting in Colombia to make a plan on transitioning away from fossil fuels – Image: Roberto Pfeil/dpa/picture alliance
At an unprecedented meeting in Colombia, delegates from more than 50 countries want to chart a practical path to wean the world off fossil fuels. Can they succeed where the UN climate talks have failed?
Cristian Retamal, Chile’s former negotiator at the annual UN climate talks, hopes this week’s conference in Colombia will lead to the start of a new global political movement.
Retamal is in Colombia’s northern coastal city of Santa Marta, where representatives from more than 50 countries are meeting for the first-ever conference on transitioning away from the fossil fuels that are heating the planet.
They aim to come up with a practical, equitable plan to help the world reduce its dependence on coal, oil and natural gas, and identify which legal, economic and social measures are needed to do so.
The conference, taking place from April 24 to 29, was created amid frustration at last year’s UN climate conference. Despite support from a broad coalition of more than 80 countries, the talks failed to nail a binding mandate to phase out fossil fuels, due to a veto led by petrostates like Russia and Saudi Arabia.
Retamal said broad international interest from all levels showed that the world recognized the need to end the fossil fuel era, despite the impasse at COP.
“In the ’90s, climate became an issue at the UN level because a few countries decided to start working on that and pushing for the UN system to address the issue,” Retamal told DW. He believes the Colombia talks could be a similar catalyst.
Major fossil fuel nations taking part in Colombia meetings
Colombian Environment Minister Irene Velez Torres, whose country is co-hosting with the Netherlands, has said participants at the unprecedented meeting are not just countries on the front lines of climate change, like Pacific Island developing states.
Major fossil fuel producing nations like Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom and Norway are also taking part. Germany, France and a few other EU member nations are also sending delegates, along with the European Commission.
The effects of climate change include more extreme weather around the world, including a major flood in Indonesia in December 2025 – Image: Chaideer Mahyuddin/AFP
The world’s biggest coal, oil and gas producers, such as the US, China, Saudi Arabia and Russia, won’t be there. But that hasn’t stopped major environmental organizations like Greenpeace and the WWF from calling it a “historic” meeting of a new “coalition of the willing.”
An end to fossil fuel subsidies?
“It is implementation time, no more discussions on ambitions,” a spokesperson for Stientje van Veldhoven-van der Meer, the Dutch minister of climate and green growth, told DW.
“We will start concrete work with a group of countries with shared views on what a transition away from fossil fuels looks like and what is required: decrease supply and demand,” he added. Part of that shift would include a plan to “phase out fossil fuel subsidies.”
Renewable energy has seen record growth in recent years. Led by solar power, especially in China and India, clean energy sources exceeded global demand for electricity in 2025, according to the latest analysis from energy think tank Ember.
The share of renewables, including solar, wind, hydropower and other clean energies, made up more than one-third of the world’s electricity mix for the first time last year.
But a worldwide phaseout of fossil fuel power, and associated greenhouse gas emissions, is still some years off. Fossil fuels are being subsidized to the tune of around $920 billion (€782 billion) every year, making oil, gas and coal appear better value than they actually are.
Iran war exposes overreliance on fossil fuels
The burning of fossil fuels is a major contributor to global warming, which is causing longer heat waves and droughts, stronger storms and flooding worldwide. These consequences are becoming more extreme and costly, with lasting consequences for people and economies.
The surge in oil and gas prices and supply shortages triggered by the Iran war has highlighted the vulnerability of countries that are reliant on fossil fuels, or the revenue generated by their sale.
“Transitioning away from fossil fuels reduces exposure to both external dependencies and to toxic pollution, enables more stable development and strengthens self-determination and democracy,” said Lili Fuhr, director of the Fossil Economy Program at the Center for International Environmental Law.
For years, energy experts have warned of relying too heavily on coal, oil and gas to power the global economy. Retamal said while the conference in Santa Marta wasn’t organized in the context of the current energy crisis, it did give delegates a good reason to “seriously discuss […] how to transition away from fossil fuels.”
No ‘magic wand’ to end fossil fuels reliance
Despite the optimism, the talks won’t act as “a magic wand” to clear away all the problems and obstacles that have built up over the decades, said Madeleine Wörner, a climate and energy expert at the German aid organization Misereor.
Retamal agreed, saying it will likely take several years before countries can agree to a binding road map or treaty. Delegates won’t just be discussing how to phase out fossil fuels, but also the many legal and trade issues that go along with such a monumental transition.
Wörner pointed out that major corporations, for example, could decide to claim compensation for lost profits under investor-state dispute settlement clauses, if their fossil fuel facilities are shut down earlier than planned. Such a far-reaching decision wouldn’t just mean potential costs, she added, but could also lead to bilateral disputes.
Millions of people around the world also depend on the fossil fuel industry for their livelihoods. An eventual phaseout would also have to ensure that these people aren’t left behind.
Germany not sending top-level politician
Co-hosts Colombia and the Netherlands are both sending their climate ministers to the talks, and Colombian President Gustavo Petro is also expected. Jochen Flasbarth, the German secretary of state for the environment, will make the trip for Germany.
“It’s a shame that the German government isn’t represented at the highest level,” said Wörner. Germany’s coalition government hasn’t presented a united front on climate policy, she said, meaning Germany likely won’t play a major role in shaping the discussion in Santa Marta.
The conference is being framed as a dialogue, not a negotiation. Starting Friday, a wide spectrum of civil society groups, academics and representatives from the private sector will talk about potential solutions. Political representatives will join the talks for the final two days.
By then, it should be clearer what this new movement will actually be able to achieve.
DW.com/NAN 25 April 26
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