Nations backing fossil fuel exit 'a new power': conference host Colombia

Participants during the International Conference on the Just Transition Away from Fossil Fuels in Santa Marta, Colombia, on April 26, 2026. [AFP] Around 60 nations are attending a world-first conference in Colombia to tackle an issue that has deadlocked the UN climate talks -- how to exit the fossil fuels that cause global warming. Colombia's Environment Minister Irene Velez Torres has been prominent as host of this breakaway climate conference, which has drawn nations wanting to accelerate the fossil fuel phaseout despite the stalemate in the UN-led "COP" summits. These countries represent "a new power", said Velez Torres, a former mining and energy minister whose own country is navigating its exit from coal and oil. Major fossil fuel producers are joining the first-of-its-kind talks but the biggest greenhouse gas emitters -- including the United States, China and Russia -- are skipping the event. AFP interviewed Velez Torres ahead of the high-level talks between ministers and climate envoys on April 28-29 in the Caribbean port town of Santa Marta: QUESTION: The world's biggest fossil fuel producers are not in Santa Marta. Does their absence threaten the credibility of this event? ANSWER: "We can look at it the other way around. When the largest emitters have been present at the COP negotiations, they have been the ones who have pushed for a veto to prevent any discussion of the need to transition beyond fossil fuels. Today, it is worth focusing on the more than 50 countries that are here, representing almost 50 percent of the global population, including consumer countries, producer countries and vulnerable countries of the Global South and North. In that sense, we are a new power today." Q: But wouldn't their absence diminish the authority of any agreement reached in Santa Marta? A: "Not at all, because we are not waiting for a joint declaration or new binding agreements between countries. We are waiting for solutions, and these do not necessarily depend on who the biggest emitters are. We hope that at some point they will get on board." Q: This conference is running parallel to -- and outside -- the UN climate talks. Does that indicate a growing frustration at the limitations of the annual COP summits? A: "Multilateralism is in crisis, but this doesn't mean we should do away with it. "On the contrary, we need a multilateralism that is more deeply rooted in the people and not just in governments, biases or economic lobbying. We need new alignments, new alliances." Q: Is it the end of the road for the COPs? A: "The COPs have demonstrated a capacity for dialogue -- but also limitations. One limitation relates to how the oil industry lobby has skewed the topics that can or cannot be included in the COPs. "Another is the consensus methodology, which has resulted in a de facto veto against countries like Colombia that want more ambitious discussions on decisions particularly related to fossil fuels. "And on the other hand, there is a methodological issue that has limited the inclusion of voices from civil society." Q: What concrete results will this conference produce? A: "First, the launch of the first scientific panel dedicated to the energy transition. This panel will be able to advise cities, regions, countries and coalitions on developing "roadmaps" for their own energy transition. We also expect a synthesis of the contributions from governments, civil society, the private sector, unions and the people who are here. "This report will be submitted to the COP30 (presidency) and COP31 (presidency) as one input to the global roadmap for moving away from fossil fuels." Q: Colombia advocates for the clean energy transition but is a major producer of coal and oil. How does President Gustavo Petro's government manage this paradox? A: "We've said there will be no new hydrocarbon contracts or expansion of coal mining. With these decisions, we have simultaneously incentivised productive economies based on food production, tourism and industrialisation. "The year 2025 showed, for the first time, that there were more exports in terms of remittances and foreign exchange from coffee versus coal. And 2025 was also the first year in which Colombia had more energy from non-conventional renewables, particularly solar, than from coal."

Nations backing fossil fuel exit 'a new power': conference host Colombia

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