Santa Marta was a learning moment for how to shape inclusive just transitions
Why this matters: environmental and climate reporting with long-term consequences.
Hina West is managing director of Climate Strategies. The first Global Conference on Transitioning away from Fossil Fuels, organised by Colombia and the Netherlands, in Santa Marta late last month convened nearly 60 countries, as well as activists, Indigenous peoples, the private sector and academia. The aim of this historic event was to build a “coalition of the willing” driving action for fossil fuel phase-out beyond the UN climate process. The stakes could not have been higher. As the planet grapples with catastrophic warming, economic instability and geopolitical conflicts fuelled by fossil fuel dependence, this conference represented a rare opportunity to reshape global energy governance, putting science and justice at the core. For decades, fossil fuel phase-out has been the elephant in the room at climate COPs. Now is finally the time to have this conversation, with Santa Marta as the starting point. So, what’s needed for this process to succeed? In the days preceding the political conference, all the different social group chapters – including academia, labour, private sector, civil society and Peoples (including Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendant Peoples, peasants, frontline collectives and youth, among others) – developed ambitious recommendations to inform this new multilateral process. As one of the co-hosts of the academic dialogue, I have learned a clear lesson on what is needed for Santa Marta to create actual breakthroughs for the global energy transition. Looking where it matters As someone working at the climate science-policy interface, I believe that science-based evidence is a crucial pathway towards implementing just, orderly and equitable transitions away from fossil fuels. Yet, as Santa Marta convened colleagues from all over the world, we heard a clear call from representatives of regions directly impacted by the fossil fuel economy: We are over-diagnosed. The evidence is all here, and what we need now is action. This is a humbling call for