Cristian Retamal, Chile’s former negotiator to the annual UN climate talks, traveled to Santa Marta on Colombia’s Caribbean coast hoping this week’s gathering will spark a new global political movement. From April 24–29, representatives from more than 50 countries met at the first-ever conference devoted to managing a transition away from the coal, oil and gas that drive climate warming.
Organizers set a practical, equity-focused agenda: work out how to cut both supply and demand for fossil fuels and identify the legal, economic and social measures needed to do it fairly. The conference was convened amid frustration with last year’s UN climate summit, where more than 80 countries supported phasing out fossil fuels but a binding mandate was blocked by vetoes from major petrostates.
Retamal and others say the wide range of participants — from grassroots groups to national delegations — signals growing recognition that the fossil fuel era must end. The meeting drew not just climate-vulnerable nations such as Pacific island states but also significant fossil-fuel producers, including Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom and Norway. Several EU governments and the European Commission attended. Major producers including the US, China, Saudi Arabia and Russia did not take part. Still, environmental organizations such as Greenpeace and WWF praised the gathering as a “coalition of the willing.”
Co-hosts Colombia and the Netherlands framed the talks around action rather than new pledges. A spokesperson for Dutch climate minister Stientje van Veldhoven-van der Meer said it was “time for implementation.” The agenda included exploring mechanisms to phase out fossil-fuel subsidies, redesign markets and build legal frameworks that allow a managed decline of extraction and consumption.
The energy landscape is shifting: rapid renewable deployment—led by solar rollouts in China and India—pushed clean electricity generation past global demand in 2025, according to the energy think tank Ember. Renewables accounted for more than one-third of the world’s electricity mix last year for the first time. Yet fossil fuels remain heavily advantaged: global subsidies to fossil fuels still total roughly $920 billion a year, keeping them cheaper than they otherwise would be.
Recent geopolitical shocks, notably the war involving Iran and the resulting oil and gas price spikes, exposed how vulnerable countries and economies remain when tied to volatile fossil-fuel markets. Organizers argued that a managed transition would reduce exposure to those external shocks, cut toxic pollution and support more stable, sovereign development. Lili Fuhr, director of the Fossil Economy Program at the Center for International Environmental Law, said moving away from fossil fuels can strengthen self-determination and democratic development.
But delegates were blunt that there are no easy shortcuts. Madeleine Wörner, a climate and energy expert at the German aid organization Misereor, warned the conference is not a “magic wand” to remove entrenched obstacles. Legal and trade complications loom large. Investor-state dispute settlement clauses in existing agreements could allow corporations to seek compensation if fossil-fuel assets are forced to close earlier than anticipated, potentially triggering costly claims and bilateral disputes. Equally important are the social and economic realities: millions of people depend on fossil-fuel jobs, and any phaseout must include robust, just transition policies to avoid leaving communities behind.
Political representation at the meeting varied. Colombia and the Netherlands sent climate ministers, and Colombian President Gustavo Petro was expected to attend. Germany was represented by Jochen Flasbarth, its secretary of state for the environment, a lower-level presence than some critics had wanted. Organizers deliberately structured the conference as a dialogue rather than a formal negotiation: civil society, academics and private-sector participants spent the first days exploring solutions, with political representatives joining for the final sessions.
By the close, the hosts hoped to have a clearer sense of what a nascent global movement for a managed fossil-fuel transition could realistically achieve, and what legal, financial and social mechanisms are needed to get from intent to implementation. Delegates acknowledged it could take years to hammer out a binding roadmap or treaty, but many saw the Colombia talks as a pragmatic first step toward coordinated action.
This article was originally written in German.