Nearly 60 Countries Conclude First Fossil Fuel Phaseout Conference

In Santa Marta, Colombia, nearly 60 countries concluded the first international conference dedicated to transitioning away from fossil fuels on Wednesday, marking a shift from stalled United Nations climate talks toward practical steps for phasing out oil, gas and coal.

Co-hosted by Colombia and the Netherlands along Colombia's Caribbean coast, the six-day gathering brought together ministers, scientists, civil society groups, Indigenous representatives and others from nations including the European Union, United Kingdom, Canada, Nigeria, Norway, Philippines and Ghana. Major emitters such as the United States, China, Saudi Arabia, Russia and India did not attend. Participants focused on developing national roadmaps for fossil fuel phaseouts, including both domestic consumption and exports, ahead of a follow-up conference in Tuvalu in early 2027, co-hosted with Ireland.

Colombia's Environment Minister Irene Vélez Torres, who chaired the talks, described the event as the start of a new approach. "This is the beginning of a new global climate democracy," she said in closing remarks. The conference opened with a People's Summit involving nearly 1,000 organizations, followed by...