Santa Marta conference unlocks historic political momentum for just transitions that must translate into rights-centric action

The First conference on Transitioning away from Fossil Fuels sent a strong political signal that the age of fossil fuels must end; this “coalition of the doers” must now turn their commitment into proactive international cooperation to pave the way for rights-based just transitions, Amnesty International said today after the end of the Santa Marta conference yesterday. 

Jointly convened by the governments of Colombia and the Netherlands, the conference brought together representatives from 57 fossil fuel producing and consuming countries, alongside parliamentarians, academics, trade unions, civil society organisations, and representatives of Indigenous Peoples, Afro‑descendant communities, children and youth movements and peasant communities, among others.

Held from 24 to 29 April, the meeting took place against the backdrop of a global energy crisis fuelled by armed conflicts and growing frustration with the UN climate negotiations, which have failed for three decades to meaningfully confront fossil fuel production despite the urgency of the climate crisis.

“This conference, which emerged as idea among a growing group of countries engaged in the Fossil Fuel Treaty Initiative, happened because existing multilateral processes are not delivering. For 30 years, COPs have failed to confront the root causes of the climate crisis head on,” said Candy Ofime, Amnesty International’s researcher and legal advisor on Climate Justice. “Santa Marta showed there is political appetite for states to defossilize the global economy and embark in just transitions, but that momentum must now translate into concrete action rooted in human rights.”

Santa Marta showed there is political appetite for states to defossilize the global economy and embark in just transitions, but that momentum must now translate into concrete action rooted in human rights.

Candy Ofime, Amnesty International’s researcher and legal advisor on Climate Justice

A moment of crisis and opportunity

The conference aimed to build a broad ‘coalition of the willing’ across sectors to accelerate knowledge‑sharing and political momentum on just transition, at a time when, as Colombia’s Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development Irene Vélez Torres acknowledged in her opening remarks, the world is facing a profound crisis of multilateralism. The conference’s discussions were organised across three thematic pillars: overcoming dependence on fossil fuels, transforming supply and demand, and advancing international cooperation and climate diplomacy.  

On 25 April, the conveners announced the creation of a new international scientific panel intended to advise policymakers on the global energy transition. While framed as complementary to the IPCC, some participants expressed concerns about the lack of clarity regarding its composition, mandate and deliverables, as well as the apparent absence of diverse epistemologies, including equal consideration of Indigenous and traditional knowledge systems.

During the closing plenary, the Netherlands’ climate minister Stientje van Veldhoven noted that the Santa Marta conference was meant as “an accelerator of work” happening across other multilateral spaces, including UNFCCC processes such as the Coalition on Phasing Out Fossil Fuel Incentives Including Subsidies launched at COP28, and stressed the importance of inviting other states to join.

Communities’ demands cannot be sidelined

Communities most affected by fossil fuel extraction and climate impacts used the conference to issue a clear warning. Through a People’s Declaration presented during the meeting, Indigenous Peoples, frontline communities and social movements called for an immediate and equitable transition away from fossil fuels, grounded in self‑determination, reparations for harm, and respect for collective rights.

NGOs also outlined three core priorities: reform of the international investment, trade and financial architecture to increase states’ – particularly Global Majority country’s’ – fiscal space necessary to phase out–through debt reform, fair taxation and rejection of Investor State Dispute Settlement mechanisms; the adoption of a Fossil Fuel Treaty; and the development of national just transition plans centred on human rights and social protection.

“These demands reflect what has been missing from global climate politics for far too long: justice, equity and accountability,” said Candy Ofime. “You cannot talk about just transition while Indigenous Peoples, frontline communities and marginalized groups continue to be sacrificed to pollution, debt and dispossession.”

Process matters

Amnesty International welcomed the conference’s innovative and more inclusive methodology, and conveners’ vetting process intended to exclude actors linked to the fossil fuel industry. However, process concerns were raised including regarding the issuance of visas for registered participants from Global Majority countries.

“The conference adopted a more participatory and holistic approach than most multi-lateral summits, welcoming the contributions of Indigenous Peoples’, Afro-descendants, children and youth, trade unions and NGOs,” said Candy Ofime. “If this process is to have credibility, it must continue to ensure effective and meaningful participation of groups that were under-represented in Santa Marta and actively dismantle the power imbalances it claims to challenge.”

The conference adopted a more participatory and holistic approach than most multi-lateral summits… it must continue to ensure effective and meaningful participation of groups that were under-represented in Santa Marta and actively dismantle the power imbalances it claims to challenge.

Candy Ofime

What comes next

The First conference on the Transition Away from Fossil Fuels did not produce a negotiated political outcome. Conveners have indicated that a synthesis report will be published in the coming months, likely ahead of COP31, and that the process will continue through a second conference, that the island states of Ireland and Tuvalu officially announced they would co-host in Tuvalu in 2027, signalling the continued importance of North-South collaboration.

As governments prepare for those next steps, Amnesty International urges them to move beyond dialogue and pave the way for the adoption of a Fossil Fuel Treaty.

“The International Court of Justice has made clear that states must phase out fossil fuels in order to keep 1.5°C alive,” said Candy Ofime. “Learning is not enough. Governments have a legal duty to act now and must choose courage over delay, justice over profit, and people over fossil fuels.”

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