On 30/4, at the Santa Marta Summit in Colombia, countries including the EU, Norway, the UK, Singapore, Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, and the Philippines reached a consensus on phasing out fossil fuels after nearly a week of discussions.

Stientje van Veldhoven, Climate Minister of the Netherlands, a co-chair of the conference, stated that price volatility and dependence on imported fossil fuels cause persistent consequences for economies. She emphasized that transitioning away from oil, coal, and natural gas is urgent to strengthen energy security and reduce the impact of shocks similar to the ongoing oil price crisis.

Oil tankers and cargo ships in the Strait of Hormuz on 11/3. Photo: AP

The countries also agreed to continue cooperation, establishing working groups on specific national roadmaps, financial tools, coordination methods between producers and consumers, and labor transition as fossil fuel production decreases. According to Carbon Brief, these nations represent one-third of the global economy, with half of the participants being fossil fuel-producing nations. They will submit plans for gradual production reduction; however, these plans are not bound by structure or a deadline for completing the transition.

Colombia unveiled a draft roadmap during the conference and established a group of scientific experts to advise nations. The country expects to reduce energy-related emissions by 90% by 2050, compared to 2015 levels, through fossil fuel transition and transport electrification. This roadmap requires capital of up to 10 billion USD annually but is projected to yield net annual savings of approximately 23 billion USD for Colombia from 2050. Last week, France became the first developed nation to announce a national roadmap for phasing out fossil fuels.

According to analysts, finance is a barrier to the transition process for nations. Developing countries in the Southern Hemisphere face high borrowing costs and limited access to capital, even though renewable energy is cheaper than fossil fuels.

Regarding this issue, the working group of the alliance of countries supporting fossil fuel phase-out will focus on finding solutions for poorer nations to avoid "debt traps" and mobilize financial resources to support the transition. They will also identify fossil fuel subsidies. This initiative is supported by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD). Another working group will focus on fossil fuel consumer trade, supported by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

The transition away from fossil fuels was previously agreed upon by nearly two hundred nations at the COP28 climate summit in 2023. However, subsequent COP meetings could not advance this commitment due to obstruction and lack of cooperation from Middle Eastern oil-producing nations, especially Saudi Arabia.

The guest list for this Santa Marta conference was carefully selected based on a spirit of supporting the fossil fuel reduction roadmap at COP30. Colombia's Environment Minister Irene Velez Torres stated that the US, China, Russia, India, and Middle Eastern countries did not attend. The second fossil fuel transition conference will take place early next year on the Pacific island of Tuvalu, co-chaired by Ireland.

Bao Bao (according to AP, Carbon Brief, The Guardian)