‘Historic breakthrough’: Colombia climate talks end with hopes raised for fossil fuel phaseout | Climate crisis

Following a landmark climate meeting with the participation of nearly 60 countries, governments were asked to develop national “road maps” outlining how to end the production and use of fossil fuels.

The voluntary plans will form the basis of a new initiative to wean the world off coal, oil and gas, which has been the focus of two days of intense talks in Colombia this week.

The approach marks a departure from annual U.N. climate talks that have continued for more than three decades even as greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise. Most of the world’s top emitters are not in the group of 59 signatories, but other countries are invited to join.

Irene Vélez Torres, Colombia’s Minister of the Environment and chair of the negotiations, said: “We decided not to bow to an economy built on the destruction of life. We decided that moving away from fossil fuels could no longer remain a slogan, but had to become a concrete, political and collective effort.

“When people look at us from the future, they won’t just remember this conference. They will remember whether we met the challenges of our time.”

Colombia and the Netherlands, which hosted the inaugural conference on the transition from fossil fuels, held discussions on trade, debt, dependence of producing countries on fossil fuel exports and ways to reduce demand. In previous days, activists, Indigenous leaders, scientists and other experts gathered in Santa Marta to discuss the social and economic impacts of fossil fuels and ways to reduce demand.

In the absence of the United States, China, India, Russia and petrostates such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, participation was limited to countries that had committed to a phase-out. This “coalition of the willing” represents more than half of global GDP, almost a third of energy demand and a fifth of fossil fuel supply.

Almost half of the countries are fossil fuel producers and will be expected to determine how they plan to cut production. However, there are no requirements for how the plans should be structured or deadlines for completing the transition.

Colombia released a draft road map during the conference and established a scientific panel to make recommendations to countries. France on Tuesday became the first developed country to publish a national roadmap to phase out fossil fuels.

Stientje van Veldhoven, the Dutch minister for climate and green growth, told the Guardian: “We see the roadmaps as a tool for the ambition with which they came here [to transition away from fossil fuels]. There will be different speeds between countries; “We must allow for this and recognize that countries start from a different position, face different challenges, so there cannot be a one-size-fits-all.”

Although countries are already publishing climate plans under the Paris agreement, known as nationally determined contributions (NDCs), Vélez said these are not enough to serve as a road map because they only address countries’ domestic greenhouse gas emissions and allow fossil fuel producers to avoid the climate impact of their exports.

Participants also agreed to support poorer countries by using the expertise needed to develop roadmaps, examine fossil fuel subsidies, and collaborate on trade policy and financial reform, including helping poor and vulnerable countries tackle their debt and increasing financing needed for the transition.

A second conference will be held early next year on the Pacific island of Tuvalu, hosted by Ireland. Maina Talia, Tuvalu’s minister for interior, climate and environment, said: “We encourage governments and states to [to draft roadmaps before the next conference]Because if they come without concrete roadmaps, we’re missing an opportunity. But in the end, they are volunteers.”

The Santa Marta conference was prompted by frustration with U.N. climate summits, where consensus rules often allow fossil fuel interests to block direct discussion of the need to phase out coal, oil and gas. But participating governments have said they will work closely within the UN system to help deliver global progress on climate at the COP31 UN climate conference in November.

Tzeporah Berman, founder and president of the Fossil Fuel Nonproliferation Treaty Initiative, said: “Santa Marta represents a historic breakthrough; we are bringing together for the first time a group of countries that want to take action. We are building a coalition of assertive countries that want to lead and break the impasse of consensus in UN negotiations that has paralyzed concrete action on fossil fuels.”

Participants praised the constructive nature of the Santa Marta talks. Fatima Eisam-Eldeen of the Let It Go Initiative said: “For too long, multilateral climate forums have seemed like rooms where everyone talks but no one understands. Santa Marta broke that mould. It spoke the language of hope.”

Kirtana Chandrasekaran, climate justice and energy program coordinator of Friends of the Earth International, called on governments to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy, with the impact of the current oil crisis.

“[Avoiding climate breakdown] “There needs to be a systemic change in the current energy model, away from fossil fuel corporate dominance and towards bottom-up, decentralized renewable energies that enable energy sovereignty for all,” he said.