Climate Action from Geneva to Santa Marta | First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels

The First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels took place in Santa Marta, Colombia from 24 to 29 April 2026. This page highlights key outcomes of the Santa Marta Conference and the involvement of International Geneva.

First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels

The First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels, co-hosted by Colombia and the Netherlands, took place in Santa Marta, Colombia from 24 to 29 April 2026. The Conference was designed as a space for countries, subnational governments and other stakeholders that recognize the need to implement a transition away from fossil fuels in a just, orderly and equitable manner, in line with climate goals and the best available science.

The objective of the Conference was to initiate a concrete process through which a coalition of committed countries, subnational governments, and relevant stakeholders can identify and advance enabling pathways to implement a progressive transition away from fossil fuels creating sustainable societies and economies. This process was informed by the experience and perspectives of national and subnational governments, academia, Indigenous Peoples, Peoples of African Descent, peasants, civil society, workers, the private sector, and other key actors at different stages of the transition. The Conference is:

A sustained political platform for countries ready to deliver implementation-driven action toward an orderly phase-out of fossil fuels;
A complementary space to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), formally contributing to the COP30 Presidency’s roadmap while accelerating practical delivery;
An innovative, horizontal dialogue that deepens democratic climate governance through meaningful and influential participation by countries and subnational governments, civil society, and other stakeholders.

This forum is not intended to serve as a negotiating body, nor does it constitute part of any formal negotiation process or initiative, and it is not intended to replace the UNFCCC. It was the first implementation-focused Conference, intended to support practical action by those already prepared to move forward. It did not seek to deliver a negotiated outcome, but rather to generate shared understanding and actionable guidance that can help accelerate a just, orderly, and equitable transition away from fossil fuels.

Guiding Principles

The Conference was guided by three key principles:

Participation by those ready to move forward, recognizing this as a space focused on action rather than persuasion.
Implementation as the guiding star, based on the shared scientific certainty that accelerating the transition away from fossil fuels is essential to achieving climate goals, upholding human rights, and addressing the triple planetary crisis. Focus on action rather than further diagnosis.
Focus on solutions that meaningfully support the transition rather than delay it.

Conference Outcomes

Aimed to be the first step in a process through which an international coalition of committed actors accelerates the transition away from fossil fuels, the Conference was guided by the best available science, by identifying concrete pathways and solutions for implementing the transition, to be further advanced through a second conference.

Key outcomes that set in motion an action-oriented course for countries to support each other in advancing the transition away from fossil fuels include:

The second conference, co-hosted by Tuvalu and Ireland, has been announced for 2027, with the main conference taking place in Tuvalu and a pre-conference meeting in Ireland.
A coordination group was created to 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, alongside 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.
Ensuring complementarity with UNFCCC, existing frameworks and sustaining momentum by handing over the conference report to the COP30 Presidency to inform its roadmap, and to the UN Secretary-General, and working with COP31 Presidency and future presidencies.
Three open and flexible workstreams will be established to organize efforts ahead of the second conference.
- Work to help countries develop roadmaps and align them with their NDCs. This work will be supported by the NDC Partnership and the Science Panel on Global Energy Transition.
- Work on macroeconomic dependencies and financial architecture, especially the fiscal, debt, and subsidy traps, to innovate a financial system that can support the transition. The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and Centre for Economic Policy and Research (CEPR) will support the workstream.
- Work on producer–consumer alignment for fossil fuel transition towards building fossil fuel free trade systems by understanding how trade continues to promote extraction and how to replace this with green trade. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) will support.
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.

The Conference made clear that countries are already making good progress in the transition to more sustainable, sovereign and secure energy systems. It also recognized that the countries present in Santa Marta still have structural dependencies to overcome, including fiscal dependencies, debt constraints, the dependence of the financial architecture on fossil fuels and the need to enable fossil fuels-free trade systems. As the transition requires broad economic transformation, the Conference made clear that the transition must be “planned with workers and communities, ensuring a transition that is fair, rights-based, and delivers tangible benefits for marginalized groups.”

Co-Host Takeaways on the First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels

Links with Other Multilateral Fora

Following the announcement at the 30th session of the Conference of the Parties to UNFCCC (COP 30) that took place in Belém, Brazil from 10 to 21 November 2025, the COP 30 Presidency is in the process of elaborating the COP 30 Presidency Roadmap for “transitioning away from fossil fuels in a just, orderly, and equitable manner”. This follows the decision adopted at COP 28 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates from 30 November to 13 December 2023 on the outcomes of the first Global Stocktake (GST), which:

28. Further recognizes the need for deep, rapid and sustained reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in line with 1.5 °C pathways and calls on Parties to contribute to the following global efforts, in a nationally determined manner, taking into account the Paris Agreement and their different national circumstances, pathways and approaches:
…
d. Transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner, accelerating action in this critical decade, so as to achieve net zero by 2050 in keeping with the science;

(paragraph 28.d of the Global Stocktake (GST) adopted at COP28)

The COP 30 Presidency Roadmap aims to translate that global consensus into implementation, building on the debates initiated in Belém and recognizing initiatives and solutions being accelerated through the Action Agenda. It will map critical barriers and enabling factors, while recognizing that no single transition pathway applies to all countries and regions. The Roadmap will offer differentiated options that countries, subnational entities, and economic sectors can adapt according to their circumstances, serving as both a reference document and a catalyst for advancing this agenda.

As such, the Conference outcomes will provide inputs to other international processes, including the UNFCCC, the initiative of a global roadmap for the transition away from fossil fuels, amongst others. The conference report will be handed over to the COP30 Presidency to inform its roadmap, sharing it ahead of the intersessional meetings of UNFCCC in Bonn in June 2026 and formally presenting it at London Climate Action Week. The outcomes of the Conference are also expected to inform discussions at the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference COP31 taking place in Antalya, Türkiye from 9 to 20 November 2026, where the informal COP30 Presidency Roadmap for Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels drafted by the team is expected to be delivered.

The conference report will also be handed to the UN Secretary-General during New York Climate Week. Finally, work with the incoming COP presidencies will be held to align the outcomes of this conference with the Global Climate Action Agenda and to channel these contributions toward the second Global Stocktake (GST2).

Thematic Pillars

The Conference produced a synthesis report identifying enabling pathways for implementing a just, orderly, and equitable transition away from fossil fuels. These pathways were organized around three thematic pillars that defined the Summary of the Conference.

Thematic Pillar 1: Overcoming economic dependence on fossil fuels

For many countries fossil-fuels (FF) dependence is a macroeconomic lock-in. Nearly 78% of global fossil fuel reserves are located in the Global South, and at least 38 developing countries are net exporters, concentrating transition exposure in economies where hydrocarbons and coal underpin exports, fiscal revenues, jobs, and balance of payments. With FF demand expected to peak before 2030, the transition away from fossil fuels presents differentiated structural risks for developing economies, no matter the pace: a delayed transition increases physical climate impacts to which many are highly exposed; a rapid transition risks sharp and potentially permanent revenue losses for exporting countries. Vulnerability, however, is not limited to exporters: net importers are exposed to supply disruptions and price shocks and constrained fiscal space to finance alternatives. These structural exposures means that fossil fuels phase-out debates must place economic dependence at the center, addressing fiscal and debt vulnerabilities, productive reconversion without creating new extractivist lock-ins, and equitable responsibilities and commitments.

Fiscal Dependency
Fiscal dependence on fossil fuels is deeply intertwined with structural restrictions, including high public debt, limited tax revenues, and persistent inequality, which limit countries’ fiscal space and economic capacity to finance the transition. In many fossil fuel–dependent economies, revenues from extraction, exports, and related activities play a central role in servicing debt and sustaining public budgets, creating strong lock- in effects that make diversification politically and fiscally challenging. Without addressing these underlying fiscal structures and debt dynamics, efforts to transition away from fossil fuels risk exacerbating inequalities and undermining long-term economic stability. Moreover, energy price reforms, including subsidy phase-out and carbon pricing, must consider impacts on vulnerable households. Ensuring affordability and maintaining public trust are essential to sustain political support and ensure the durability of transition policies.
Economic and labor reconversion
A just transition requires moving beyond substituting extractive-models toward diversified, place-based economic strategies that strengthen sustainable territorialities and local value creation. Peasants and small-scale farming, bioeconomies, cooperative industrialization, and tourism rooted in natural and cultural heritage, together with local and community-based productive models, can generate employment, reinforce resilience, and enable a more equitable distribution of benefits —particularly in regions historically dependent on fossil fuel activities. Prioritizing these sectors as pillars of economic reconversion contributes to reducing fiscal and economic dependence on carbon-intensive export commodities, while anchoring the transition in inclusive and sustainable development pathways.
Shared responsibilities and commitments
Overcoming economic dependence on fossil fuels requires shared but differentiated responsibilities at the international level. Countries must cooperate across export– import, producer–consumer, and developed–developing divides to realign global finance, trade, and industrial policies with transition objectives. At the same time, all countries must commit to avoiding new forms of extractivism, upholding safeguards, traceability, meaningful participation, and fiscal transparency.

Thematic Pillar 2: Transforming supply and demand

I. Demand

Fuel Switching
Fuel switching —the substitution of fossil fuels with zero-carbon alternatives— is the most direct and scalable way to reduce emissions and fossil fuel demand. Clean energy expansion needs to result in the direct displacement of fossil fuel use. In the power sector, this means systematically replacing coal- and gas-fired generation with renewable sources and refraining from adding new fossil capacity. Through an orderly planning, new renewable supply must reduce fossil output in absolute terms, ensuring a structural decline in fossil generation rather than parallel growth. According to the IEA, under net-zero–aligned policies, renewables would account for nearly 90% of global electricity generation by 2050 — a trajectory that depends on prompt substitution, not supplementation.
Energy security and sovereignty
Ensuring energy security and sovereignty requires reducing fossil fuel dependence through efficiency, electrification, and local clean power. This shifts the focus from fuel supply to system resilience, lowering exposure to price shocks and geopolitical disruptions. It is also important that this approach considers the transformation of emerging applications, including AI, which, if applied on a fossil-heavy system, may inadvertently lock in fossil fuel dependence. Achieving this transition demands coordinated planning, enabling policies, and substantial investment in electricity networks. The scale of the challenge is uneven: advanced economies must expand grids by at least 50%, while emerging and developing countries need over 150% more capacity by 2050. Without closing this gap, energy security will default to short-term fossil solutions instead of a resilient, sovereign, affordable, and climate-aligned energy system.
Closure of new demand drivers
Even with rapid progress in energy and transport, global fossil fuel demand would continue to rise under existing policies. The IEA shows that without additional measures, demand growth in specific sectors would offset reductions achieved elsewhere. A key driver is the petrochemical sector, identified as the largest source of future oil demand growth globally. Petrochemicals are projected to account for over one-third of oil demand growth to 2030 and nearly half to 2050 under current trends. This makes clear that demand reduction is not only about substitution—it also requires actively closing new sources of fossil fuel demand, including looking for viable pathways to avoiding new fossil infrastructure, including petrochemical capacity, that locks in emissions for decades.
Energy Access
A successful energy transition must advance rights, sustainable development and wellbeing, including universal access to affordable, reliable and clean energy. Today, hundreds of millions of people still lack access to modern energy services, and demand reduction strategies must be designed to close—not widen—these gaps. The IEA highlights that decentralized renewable solutions—such as solar home systems, mini-grids and efficient electric appliances—are among the least-cost options for expanding energy access, particularly in rural and underserved areas. When properly designed, the transition should lower household energy costs, enable clean electrification without increasing energy poverty, and align climate mitigation with improvements in health, education and outcomes that reduce inequality and poverty.

II. Supply

Reducing fossil fuel extraction is a necessary complement to demand reduction to ensure alignment with climate goals and avoid locking in high-emissions infrastructure. Supply-side measures are essential to align investment and markets with the mitigation pathways science demands. The IPCC makes clear that limiting warming to 1.5°C requires a rapid decline in fossil fuel use this decade, while the IEA confirms that no new oil and gas fields are needed in a net-zero pathway. Without decisive supply-side action, markets will continue locking in fossil expansion incompatible with climate stability. A managed and predictable reduction of fossil fuel supply also helps align investment decisions with declining long-term demand, lowers the risk of stranded assets, and supports a smoother, fairer and orderly transition.

Planned phase down and closure of fossil fuel extraction
Existing fossil fuel reserves and extraction projects already under development are sufficient to meet projected global demand in pathways consistent with climate neutrality. Continued extraction without a managed phase-down and responsible closure increases labour, economic, fiscal, and carbon lock-in risks, as assets face declining utilization and may become stranded over time. Importantly, a responsible decline and closure in fossil fuel extraction must address environmental liabilities (restoration of extraction sites), fairly distribute responsibilities and impacts among governments, companies, and communities, ensure that closures are guided by principles of justice, cover associated costs, and manage stranded assets so that economic, labour, social, and environmental risks are mitigated.
Internalizing costs and eliminating fossil fuel incentives
Phasing-out fossil fuel subsidies and strengthening carbon pricing together can help align energy prices with their environmental costs, creating stronger incentives for energy efficiency and low-carbon technologies. Phasing out fossil fuel subsidies can make clean energy investments more competitive and can free up fiscal space for clean energy infrastructure and transition investments. Carbon pricing steers emission reductions towards sectors where low-carbon alternatives are already available at relatively low cost.

While there is no single recipe for successful subsidy reform, it has proven to be an important factor to steer supply and demand towards a fair, orderly and equitable transition, to create fiscal space and to reduce global emissions by 5– 10%. The Santa Marta Conference aims to build coalitions across countries facing similar constraints and to push for (i) demand-side policies focused on fuel switching, phase-out of key demand drivers and enablers for clean energy access (ii) careful and responsible phase out of existing exploration and extraction and (iii) clear pathways for the phase out of fossil fuel incentives and the scaling up of clean energy investments.

Thematic Pillar 3: Advancing international cooperation and climate diplomacy

This Conference recognizes that, despite decades of negotiations and successive global commitments, the global transition away from fossil fuels is not yet advancing at the scale, speed, or level of coordination that science indicates is necessary, nor at the pace required to uphold climate justice for the most affected peoples and territories. While the multilateral process has delivered important normative frameworks and political signals, persistent implementation gaps remain, underscoring the opportunity to strengthen cooperation, accelerate practical action, and enhance collective ambition in a manner that reinforces and builds upon existing international efforts.

Fossil fuel production and investment continue to increase (IEA), highlighting a persistent gap between ambition and action, even under the commitments of the Paris Agreement to limit warming to 1.5°C (UNEP Gap Emissions Report). While the Agreement has driven some progress, current trajectories remain insufficient to meet the 1.5°C goal.

Countries also face legal and institutional constraints, including investor–state dispute settlement (ISDS) provisions, which can restrict their ability to phase down fossil fuels. The response to these challenges is not retreat, but stronger, more inclusive, and action-oriented international cooperation. Addressing this crisis with honesty and deeper democratic engagement is essential to identify where additional or complementary mechanisms are needed, strengthen implementation and governance, and remove international legal barriers that hinder the transition.

Addressing implementation, cooperation and governance gaps
Political pledges such as The Port Vila Call for a Just Transition to a Fossil Fuel Free Pacific, paragraph 28 of Decision 1/CMA.5 and the Belem Declaration, signal intent, but no explicit international regulation exists to phase out fossil fuel production at scale. Existing UNFCCC frameworks focus primarily on emissions, rather than on the key actions needed to implement the transition away from fossil fuels, including around production, consumption, and the broader transformation of energy systems, or on emerging drivers of fossil fuel demand. Honest reflection is needed on where the UNFCCC and related multilateral instruments have been effective, and where additional efforts, coalitions, and complementary mechanisms are required to support implementation, accelerate the transition, and strengthen global climate governance and cooperation.
Removing international legal barriers
Environmental responses do not operate in isolation; they are embedded within the broader architecture of international law. Within this system, significant legal barriers persist. Thousands of international investment agreements include investor–state dispute settlement (ISDS) provisions that allow foreign corporations to sue states for measures adopted in the public interest. In practice, this creates an inherent asymmetry: corporations can claim compensation for lost profits, while states may face costly litigation for phasing down fossil fuel operations. Such provisions risk constraining sovereign decision-making, undermining climate obligations, and reinforcing structural inequalities that privilege corporate interests over environmental protection and human rights.
Frontrunner cooperation
Enhanced collaborations through voluntary coalitions among ambitious governments, cities, private sector and civil society – such as the Climate and Clean Air Coalition, the Powering Past Coal Alliance and the International Solar Alliance – are increasingly vital for driving climate action, often outpacing formal international negotiations by allowing ambitious governments, cities, and private sector actors to collaborate on specific, fast-acting goals. By working together in new and more integrated ways, these efforts can help advance practical solutions, reinforce multilateral objectives, and contribute to building the momentum needed to address the scale and urgency of the climate challenge.

In the context of the gaps and barriers identified above, states and other actors convening in Santa Marta are invited to discuss the implications of the current state of global governance and offer their views on possible solutions that can be collectively pursued, including collaborations between vanguards, international binding legal instruments, cooperative mechanisms and soft law approaches.

Participation and Process

The Conference put in place a process to enable participation and jointly build the enabling pathways for the transition that the Conference will deliver. The process leading to Santa Marta was organized into stakeholder group chapters, comprising written inputs, online dialogues by group, and in person stakeholder-led dialogues involving Peoples (including Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendant Peoples, peasants, frontline collectives, youth, among others), NGOs, academia, subnational governments, countries, workers, parliamentarians, the private sector, and others in Santa Marta. Between February and April 2026, governments and other stakeholders have been engaging and contributing to the technical and political discussions.

57 countries, representing approximately a third of global GDP and accounting for “~⅓ of global fossil fuel consumption and ~⅕ of global production,” participated in the Conference. Among these countries were producer and consumer countries of oil, coal, and gas, and are active participants in initiatives or coalitions that demonstrate a commitment to implementing the transition. The Conference was also greatly informed by contributions from various chapters, including representatives from subnational governments, academia, social movements, NGOs, trade unions, parliamentarians, the private sector, multilateral development banks, Indigenous Peoples, peoples of African descent, peasants, children and youth, and women and diversities.

A total of 2,608 organizations have also expressed their interest in participating in the Conference. The UN system is also mobilized to attend the Conference, including the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), and the International Labour Organization (ILO).

People’s Summit for a Fossil Free Future

Having taken place in parallel to the First International Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels, the People’s Summit for a Fossil Free Future was the civil society counterpart to the historic Santa Marta Conference. The People’s Summit was held from 24 to 26 April 2026 and served as a critical space for self-organized civil society to unify our demands and build collective power from the ground up. It is based on a global process for deepening and widening broad movement consensus on a more comprehensive agenda for a rapid, equitable, and just energy transition.

The People’s Summit for a Fossil Free Future was coordinated by a broad coalition of over 900 organisations and networks, co-convened by El Consejo Permanente para la Transición Energética Justa, the Global Campaign to Demand Climate Justice (DCJ) and the Climate Action Network International (CAN). Working alongside local partners and international movements, this coalition is establishing a platform to amplify the voices and demands of civil society organisations, frontline organisations, Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendant communities, Feminists, Youth, Workers, and more. While we engage with the official process through dedicated pre-meeting spaces designed to move beyond symbolic participation, the People’s Summit stands as an independent movement space reflecting the broader struggle for a just and equitable transition away from fossil fuels.

People’s Declaration for a Rapid, Equitable, and Just Transition for a Fossil-Free Future

Ahead of the high-level segment, a powerful global coalition of civil society organizations, frontline communities, Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendants, women, youth, and workers officially launched the People’s Declaration for a Rapid, Equitable, and Just Transition for a Fossil-Free Future. The declaration outlines 15 principles for a just transition, and calls for immediate, concrete actions, including:

A complete equitable and just phase-out of fossil fuels aligned with meeting the goal of keeping warming below 1.5°c and reach global real zero emissions by 2050
A rapid, direct, equitable, and just transition to 100% renewable energy; ensure equitable and universal access to renewable energy
An end to barriers to the transition and pursue solutions
A comprehensive just transition

15 Principles for a Just Transition

Rapid, Transformative, and Science-Based: The transition must be a systemic overhaul guided by rigorous climate science (limiting warming to 1.5°C and reaching real zero by 2050) while drawing from Indigenous, ancestral, and popular knowledge.
Fair and Equitable (Based on Historical Responsibility): Acknowledges the Global North’s historical and ongoing responsibility, requiring it to lead in phase-out speed and provide adequate, grant-based climate finance as reparations to the Global South.
Addressing Energy Poverty and Universal Access: Guarantees the universal right to sufficient, sustainable, gender-just, and non-racist energy access, treating energy as a public good and prioritizing decentralized, community-owned systems.
Efficiency, Sufficiency, Sovereignty, and Responsible Use: Prioritizes curbing excessive consumption (especially by elites and corporations) and material sufficiency over capital accumulation, rejecting extractivist models even for « green » transitions.
Energy Democracy and Sovereignty: Promotes democratic, community, and public ownership of energy systems, ensuring decisions are made by peoples and territories rather than corporations, with deep participation in planning.
People-Centered Human Rights and Inclusion: Centers the rights of workers, women, migrants, Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendants, youth, and marginalized sectors, actively dismantling discrimination based on gender, race, class, and caste.
Democratic Governance of Land, Water, and Natural Resources: Ensures equitable governance of natural heritage, protecting biodiversity, water security, and food systems while respecting communal and Indigenous territorial rights and promoting agroecology.
Sustainable and Equitable Management of Transition Minerals: Mandates strict human rights and environmental standards for mining transition minerals, rejects extractivism, promotes a circular economy, and prohibits mineral use for militarism.
Ecological Justice, Integrity, and Regeneration: Moves beyond mere phase-out to regenerative development, protecting biodiversity and restoring ecosystems while respecting the Rights of Nature.
Mobilizing Adequate and Just Finance: Demands the removal of financial barriers, cancellation of illegitimate debts, and the provision of adequate, public, non-debt-creating climate finance from the Global North as reparations, without policy conditionalities.
No False Solutions: Explicitly rejects distractions like carbon capture (CCS/BECCS), nuclear energy, hydrogen/ammonia co-firing, carbon markets, large-scale bioenergy, and waste incineration that delay the phase-out or harm communities.
Sovereignty, Peace, and Global Justice: Links decarbonization to demilitarization, asserting that wars and militarism are major drivers of emissions and barriers to justice; demands an end to aggression, occupation, and the redirection of military spending to life-sustaining systems.
Reparative and Transformative Justice: Requires the dismantling of historical structures of inequality (colonialism, slavery, patriarchy) and the provision of reparations for harms caused by fossil fuel extraction and use, including recognition of the Transatlantic Slave Trade as a crime against humanity.
International Solidarity and Cooperation: Calls for global cooperation based on differentiated responsibilities, technology sharing, and support for a binding Fossil Fuel Treaty, rejecting green colonialism and corporate capture of multilateral processes.
System Change: Asserts that the climate crisis requires a comprehensive restructuring of the economic, political, and social system away from capitalism, patriarchy, racism, and extractivism toward a regenerative, democratic, and equitable order.

Events in Geneva

Events in Geneva in preparation for the Santa Marta Conference are listed below.

Recent International Developments on the Transition Away From Fossil Fuels: Trade-Related Dimensions and Opportunities

14 April 2026

Two-Speed Multilateralism: Can It Address the Climate & Health Agenda?

30 March 2026

Advancing a Just Transition: How Human Rights Can Underpin International Processes to Phase Out Fossil Fuels | HRC61 Side Event

10 March 2026

International Geneva at the First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels

Climate change is deeply linked to biodiversity loss, human rights, economic prosperity, trade, health, and many other issues at the heart of multilateral processes in Geneva. These multilateral processes can be used to foster international cooperation on climate change. Below is a list of Geneva-based organizations and their engagement in preparation for and at the Santa Marta Conference.

International Labour Organization | ILO

The ILO is the UN Agency leading the work on the just transition. Its members adopted the guidelines for a just transition towards environmentally sustainable economies and societies for all in 2015, becoming a widely recognized point of reference for all work related to the just transition. A representative from the organization was present at the Conference.

Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights | OHCHR, UN Human Rights

As the leading UN entity on human rights, OHCHR aims to provide guidance that encourages policy coherence and ensures that climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts are adequate, sufficiently ambitious, non-discriminatory and compliant with human rights obligations.

Center for International Environmental Law | CIEL

CIEL is committed to applying a human rights-based approach as a means to protect the peoples and communities on the frontline of climate change. In doing so, it works to design and integrate policies to safeguard rights and ecosystems and to ensure effective public participation within key climate institutions and mechanisms. In the lead-up to the Santa Marta Conference, CIEL has organized a side event to the 61st session of the Human Rights Council (HRC61) on « Advancing a Just Transition: How Human Rights Can Underpin International Processes to Phase Out Fossil Fuels« .

Franciscans International

Franciscans International aims to address the root causes of injustices by bringing cases of discrimination and violence committed against individuals and groups living on the margins to the attention of the international community, towards advocating for dignity, peace, and environmental justice. Ahead of the First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels, Catholic organisations and faith leaders from around the world, including Franciscans International, have issued a joint statement underscoring: the climate crisis is not only an environmental emergency, it is a moral one. The statement calls on governments worldwide to move beyond pledges and deliver real action on climate change.

Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch investigates and reports on abuses and human rights violations, including on the environment, happening in all corners of the world and works to protect the most at risk. Human Rights Watch stands with fence-line communities around the world to end the direct human harms inherent to fossil-fuel projects and uplift local community demands for stricter regulations, moratoria on new exploration and production, and alternative forms of cleaner energy. Human Rights Watch will have its presence at the Conference.

International Federation for Human Rights | FIDH

Defending all civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights as set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights since 1992, FIDH has mobilized to fight impunity to hold States and business accountable for environmental degradation, advocating that a just transition away from fossil fuels must be an imperative for all climate action ahead. FIDH, in its submissions to both the Santa Marta and the COP31 roadmap, calls for: meaningful and effective participation of rightsholders and human rights defenders in phaseout action plans; reform of trade and investment agreements to serve human rights and climate objectives instead of corporate interests; tax justice reform to remedy budgetary crunches arising from the phaseout and find new, increased resources to fulfil human rights.

International Institute for Sustainable Development | IISD

IISD is actively involved in the two main responses to climate change: adaptation and mitigation. It partners with countries to help them cope with a changing climate and transition to clean energy as quickly as possible. IISD is engaged to showcase how a just transition approach ensures that the affected people are considered by those making decisions. IISD is also active in its project on Advancing the Transition Away from Fossil Fuels, supporting credible roadmaps for a just, orderly, and equitable transition away from fossil fuels. IISD will be present at the Santa Marta Conference, including through the IISD-hosted Friends of Climate and Health, which serves as a platform for countries to discuss opportunities to integrate health into UNFCCC processes and advance global action on climate and health.

South Centre

South Centre provided an informal note, « The First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels: Reclaiming Multilateralism for a Just Transition« , analyzes how the conference addresses the ‘judicialization’ of climate obligations following landmark 2025 advisory opinions from the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR). It highlights critical barriers facing developing countries, specifically the ‘regulatory chill’ caused by Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanisms and the ‘debt-fossil fuel trap’ that binds extractive economies to external risks. It also recognizes that integrating the ‘People’s Summit’ outcomes into the official Conference could promote a reparative financial model and strengthen the principle of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC).

UN Special Rapporteur on climate change and human rights

The UN Special Rapporteur on climate change and human rights is mandated by the UN Human Rights Council to study and identify how the adverse effects of climate change, affect the full and effective enjoyment of human rights. The current mandate holder, Elisa Morgera, has organized “From Durham to Santa Marta and Beyond” conference exploring and connecting diverse areas of evidence and thinking on equitable pathways to defossilize our economies and effectively protect human rights, with a view to supporting key international processes on climate change, human rights, and fossil fuels in 2026. She will be present at the Santa Marta Conference.

We Mean Business Coalition

An article published by We Mean Business Coalition highlighted that the Santa Marta Conference is a timely opportunity to drive forward a shared roadmap away from fossil fuels to clean, electrified solutions. expanding clean power generation alone won’t enable countries to transition to a safer, healthier future. The article argued that renewables combined with electrification allows electricity produced from the sun, wind and water to directly displace fuels like heating oil, diesel and gas across sectors – particularly in transport, building and industry, with huge potential savings.

Women Engage for a Common Future | WECF

In the run-up to the First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels, various NGOs, including WECF, published a position paper on the role of the Netherlands as co-organizer, uniquely positioned to shape the direction and ambition of the conference.

World Council of Churches | WCC

For the World Council of Churches and its member churches, this conference marks a defining commitment within the Ecumenical Decade of Climate Justice Action, which calls churches to move from fossil fuels toward renewable, community-owned energy systems and to advocate for a just transition grounded in equity. This commitment now finds a concrete arena. WCC delegates will travel to Santa Marta carrying a Multi-faith Call for a Fossil Fuel Treaty, co-prepared with partner faith actors, urging governments to advance the fossil fuel transition: ending new fossil fuel development immediately and guaranteeing a just, equitable phase-out of coal, oil, and gas.

WWF International

In the run-up to the First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels, various NGOs, including WWF International, published a position paper on the role of the Netherlands as co-organizer, uniquely positioned to shape the direction and ambition of the conference. Ahead of the Conference, WWF called for strong political signals that demonstrate leadership among committed governments and launch credible next steps, leading to accelerated progress on national implementation.

Resources and News

Reactions

Santa Marta conference to end fossil fuels a landmark moment for climate and energy stability | Greenpeace International | 30 April 2026
No Transition Without Justice: A Mandate from the Conference Towards Territories Free from Fossil Fuels in Santa Marta | Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature | 30 April 2026
Santa Marta Conference: outcome | E3G | 30 April 2026
WWF: Santa Marta marks a pivotal milestone in implementing the fossil fuel transition | WWF | 29 April 2026
Historic Santa Marta Conference: A Turning Point for Global Fossil Fuel Phaseout | CIEL | 29 April 2026

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The First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels: Reclaiming Multilateralism for a Just Transition – Informal Note | Daniel Uribe Terán, South Centre | 28 April 2026
Santa Marta marks a new chapter in climate diplomacy| Climate Home News | 28 April 2026
New Analysis Shows Governments Spent Five Times More Public Money on Fossil Fuels than Renewables, Putting Energy Security at Risk| IISD | 27 April 2026
This is the way it should have begun (and it’s not hopeless)| Magnus Løvold | 27 April 2026
In Santa Marta, Colombia gathering, WCC joins global call to end fossil fuels| World Council of Churches | 27 April 2026
Global movements unite in Santa Marta to launch “People’s Declaration for a Rapid, Equitable, and Just Transition for a Fossil-Free Future” ahead of historic climate conference | Fossil Free Rising | 26 April 2026
First scientific panel established to advise on the global energy transition (Se crea primer panel científico que asesorará la transición energética global)| Ministerio de Ambiente y Desarrollo Sostenible, Colombia | 25 April 2026
The human rights imperative of defossilizing our economies at the opening of the First International Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels in Santa Marta, Colombia | Statement by Elisa Morgera, UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change | 24 April 2026
Rights Need to Guide Global Fossil Fuel Phaseout | Myrto Tilianaki, Human Rights Watch | 23 April 2026
Santa Marta 2026: aligning ambition with action in fossil fuel phase-out | Stockholm Environment Institute | 23 April 2026
We Don’t Have Time joins 340+ organizations in global statement on ISDS | We Don’t Have Time | 23 April 2026
Africa Must Lead Its Own Fossil Fuel Phaseout | Big3Africa | 22 April 2026
Santa Marta Conference: Health Must Become Imperative for Governments’ Exit From Fossil Fuel Dependence| Global Climate & Health Alliance | 20 April 2026
Revealed: Scientists tell Colombia fossil-fuel transition summit to ‘halt new expansion’ | Carbon Brief | 20 April 2026
After COP30, what’s next for the fossil fuel phaseout? | Global Witness | 20 April 2026
Fossil fuel transition talks must address militaries | CEOBS | 20 April 2026
Santa Marta Conference: A potential turning point for fossil fuels – and for the ocean? | Ocean Care | 17 April 2026
Santa Marta calls time on fossil fuels, dares leaders to follow | WWF | 16 April 2026
The Legal Foundations for Fossil Fuel Phaseout: An Open Letter to the Co-Hosts and Participants of the First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels | 20 April 2026
Multi-faith Call for a Fossil Fuel Treaty | Faith Institutions
Colombia convenes climate ‘coalition of the willing’ to break global fossil fuel deadlock | The Guardian | 17 April 2026
Beyond the Burn: Why Santa Marta Must Tackle the Petrochemical Build Out | Delphine Lévi Alvarès, CIEL | 15 April 2026
Spillover Effects: The Fossil Fuel Debt Trap in the Global South | Fossil Fuel Treaty Initiative, Oil Change International & MENAFEM | 15 April 2026
Charting the Path to a Fossil-Free Future in Santa Marta and Beyond: What the Conference Must Deliver | Nikki Reisch & Lili Fuhr, CIEL | 14 April 2026
1st International Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels | World Council of Churches | 14 April 2026
Escape from Hormuz, via Santa Marta | Observatório do Clima | 14 April 2026
From COP30 to Santa Marta: Feasible Pathways for Fossil Fuel Phaseout | Beardsworth, R. , Garvey, A. and Johnson, E., University of Leeds | 13 April 2026
Subnational governments are already shifting away from fossil fuels | IISD | 13 April 2026
Switzerland wants a global roadmap to phase out fossil fuels | Luigi Jorio, Swissinfo | 13 April 2026
‘The transition away from fossil fuels is a prerequisite for global peace’ | Luigi Jorio, Swissinfo | 13 April 2026
Rethinking the Concept of International Disciplines on Fossil Fuel Subsidies | Robert Howse & Petrus van Bork | TESS Forum | 10 April 2026
Letter to Colombia and Netherlands as Co-Hosts of the Santa Marta Conference | The Climate Reality Project, Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), Earth4All, Global Witness, Transparency International | 9 April 2026
Position Paper NGOs on the Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels Conference | Oxfam Novib, Cordaid, Civil Society Platform for Peacebuilding and Statebuilding, Humanity Hub, Wo=men, SOMO, Climate Reality Europe, Both ENDS, WWF, Hivos, ActionAid, Milieudefensie, Greenpeace, Young Climate Movement, Reclame Fossielvrij, WECF and 350 | 9 April 2026
A new economic superpower could spark a global retreat from fossil fuels | Mark Hertsgaard and Kyle Pope, Covering Climate Now | The Guardian | 7 April 2026
Securing a Global Framework to End the Fossil Fuel Era | Youth Concern on Environment and Development YCED | 6 April 2026
We Don’t Have Time Podcast New Episode: The beginning of the end of fossil fuels | We Don’t Have Time | 3 April 2026
The Beginning Of The End For Fossil Fuels Can Start In Colombia | Catarina Rolfsdotter-Jansson, We Don’t Have Time | Forbes | 2 April 2026
How fossil fuel companies and their financiers avoid criticism on X | Global Witness | 2 April 2026
The beginning of the end of fossil fuels | We don’t have time | 2 April 2026
25 Countries and 27 Subnational Jurisdictions Already have Fossil Fuel Production Restrictions—and Many Have Held Firm Through Recent Energy Shocks | IISD | 1 April 2026
Drawing the Line and Holding It: What existing moratoria, bans, and restrictions reveal about transitioning away from fossil fuels | Paola Andrea Yanguas Parra, Natalie Jones, IISD | 1 April 2026
Catholic Actors’ Statement for Santa Marta: A Moral Moment to Deliver Action for Our Common Home | CIDSE, on behalf of Catholic faith leaders and organizations | 1 April 2026
Developing an International Regime to Advance the Transition Away from Fossil Fuels: Three Tracks for a Just Transition | Fossil Fuel Treaty | April 2026
Major oil producers among 46 nations joining fossil fuel phase-out summit | Climate Home News | 31 March 2026
From the Santa Marta Conference to COP31, a fossil fuel phaseout must be brought about – and with human rights at its core | International Federation for Human Rights | 31 March 2026
The Santa Marta 2026 Conference: Filling the Silence on Fossil Fuels from COP 30 | EcoJesuit | 31 March 2026
Two-Speed Multilateralism: Breaking the Deadlock on Climate and Health | Felix Sassmannshausen, Health Policy Watch | 30 March 2026
Inside the emerging roadmap away from fossil fuels | Elva Darnell, UNSW | 27 March 2026
Policy Briefing: Expectations towards the Santa Marta Conference on Just Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels | CAN Europe | 18 March 2026
Fossil fuels are finished. Renewables are the future. | Daniel Högsta, WWF | 15 March 2026
Amid Oil and Gas Volatility, Experts Outline What Credible Fossil Fuel Transition Roadmaps Should Include | IISD | 10 March 2026
With oil and gas markets facing renewed volatility amid the Middle East crisis, governments preparing for April’s Colombia–Netherlands-led conference in Santa Marta have an opportunity to advance credible national roadmaps — grounded in science, justice and international coordination —for the transition away from fossil fuels, according to a new report.