About 60 countries have convened in Colombia for a landmark conference aimed at addressing one of the most contentious issues in global climate negotiations — how to phase out fossil fuels driving global warming.
The gathering, described as the first of its kind, comes amid a prolonged deadlock in United Nations climate talks, particularly within the annual COP summits, where consensus on moving beyond fossil fuels has remained elusive.
Colombia’s Environment Minister, Irene Torres, has taken a leading role in organising the breakaway summit.
The event has attracted nations determined to accelerate the transition away from coal, oil, and gas despite slow progress under the UN framework.
“These countries represent a new power,” Velez Torres said, highlighting the coalition’s ambition to reshape the global climate agenda.
”A former mining and energy minister, she noted that Colombia itself is undergoing a gradual shift away from fossil fuel dependence.
While several major fossil fuel producers are participating, notable absentees include top greenhouse gas emitters such as the United States, China, and Russia, raising questions about the potential impact of the discussions.
In an interview ahead of the high-level meeting scheduled for April 28–29 in Santa Marta, Velez Torres dismissed concerns about the absence of these major emitters.
“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,” she said.
She emphasised that the current gathering represents a broad coalition of nations, accounting for nearly half of the world’s population, including both producers and consumers of fossil fuels as well as countries most vulnerable to climate change.
“In that sense, we are a new power today,” she added.
Responding to concerns that any agreement reached without the biggest emitters might lack authority, she insisted the conference is not focused on binding declarations.
“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.”
The conference is being held outside the traditional UN framework, a move that reflects growing frustration with the limitations of multilateral climate negotiations.
“Multilateralism is in crisis, but this doesn’t mean we should do away with it,” she said.
“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.”
Asked whether this signals the decline of the COP process, Velez Torres acknowledged both its strengths and shortcomings.
“The COPs have demonstrated a capacity for dialogue but also limitations,” she said, citing the influence of the oil industry lobby and the consensus-based decision-making model, which she argued has effectively created a veto against more ambitious climate action.
She also pointed to a lack of meaningful participation from civil society as another structural weakness.
On expected outcomes, the minister outlined plans for concrete initiatives, including the launch of a scientific panel dedicated to guiding the global energy transition.
“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,” she explained.
The conference would also produce a synthesis report incorporating contributions from governments, civil society groups, private sector actors, and labour unions.
This document is expected to be submitted to future UN climate presidencies as input toward a global roadmap for phasing out fossil fuels.
Addressing Colombia’s own position as a fossil fuel producer, Velez Torres highlighted policy shifts under President Gustavo Petro.
“We’ve said there will be no new hydrocarbon contracts or expansion of coal mining,” she said.
“With these decisions, we have simultaneously incentivised productive economies based on food production, tourism, and industrialisation.”
She added that 2025 marked a turning point for the country, with exports from sectors such as coffee surpassing those from coal, and renewable energy particularly solar overtaking coal in Colombia’s energy mix for the first time.
