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10 BIG LESSONS ON ENDING THE FOSSIL FUEL ERA  
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Jonathan Watts and Fiona Harvey
May 1, 2026
The Guardian
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_ Hope is contagious and science is king: At world-first Santa Marta
climate meeting, delegates say it was ‘euphoric’ to finally be
focusing on concrete solutions _

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After a landmark climate meeting in Santa Marta, Colombia
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countries gathered to work out how to end the production and use of
planet-heating fossil fuels, what have we learned?

1. LIBERATION LIFTS THE SPIRITS

The single most important thing to come from the first Transitioning
Away from Fossil Fuels conference, in Santa Marta, has been a change
of mood. Whereas the UN’s annual climate summits
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or Cops, can often feel stuck and frustrating, with countries circling
the same topics without resolution, nearly every delegate in Colombia
felt liberated.

“The mood here in Santa Marta is euphoric,” said Tzeporah Berman,
the founder and chair of the fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty
initiative
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“After years stuck in endless debates about whether to phase out
fossil fuels, finally we are focusing on the how. We are no longer
fighting for recognition of the problem, but creating solutions.
It’s like watching a dam break – all that pent-up experience,
knowledge and passion suddenly flowing into concrete ways to phase out
dirty fuels. The hope is contagious.”

2. SCIENCE HAS TO COME FIRST

In a world of climate denial and misinformation, Santa Marta was a
shining example of science-led decision making. Hundreds of experts,
academics and scientists inspired and informed the launch of three
major initiatives on the energy transition.It reminded many
participants of an earlier, more enlightened age of global climate
negotiations, which would always start with an update of the latest
science. Over the years, however, oil-producing countries such as
Saudi Arabia have vetoed or watered down UN science warnings, while
introducing controversial solutions, including offsets and carbon
capture and storage, that have been promoted by the petroleum industry
as an excuse to continue expanding production. At Santa Marta,
delegates called these “false solutions” and focused on the core
of the problem: eliminating fossil fuels

3. PRODUCERS MUST BE IN THE SPOTLIGHT

 Climate activists have long argued the Cop process has been crippled
by a focus almost solely on the demand side of the problem. The
responsibility of emission cuts was dumped on to consumers, while oil,
gas and coal companies were given free rein to ramp up production and
profits. At Santa Marta, the balance was shifted back to the supply
side. Some speakers said the majority of the world’s emissions,
which continue to break records almost every year, were released by
the drilling, processing and transportation of fossil fuels.Rather
than condemning petrostates, this was treated as an unhealthy
dependency and ways were examined to break the pattern of addiction.

4. GLOBAL SOUTH DEBT MUST BE TACKLEDThe urgent need to address
the debt crisis
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was one of the clearest messages to emerge from Santa Marta. Many
countries in the global south that want to invest in renewables are
unable to do so because they spend a huge proportion of their foreign
exchange earnings on high interest repayments and imports of fossil
fuels.Banks and bond markets provide low-interest loans to fossil fuel
industries – most of which are based in wealthy nations – without
accounting for the associated risks of climate instability and
stranded assets. Many participants at Santa Marta said this showed an
energy transition had to come with changes to the global financial
architecture, as well as the redirection of government subsidies away
from the petroleum industry and towards renewables and debt reduction.

5. NOT EVERYONE AGREES ON EVERYTHINGThere were few open disagreements
among the “coalition of the willing” assembled at Santa Marta, but
there are differences of opinion on how to achieve the desired end of
a fossil-fuel-free society. The Colombian hosts set no guidelines on
what, if any, legal framework should be adopted.One longstanding
proposal is for a new fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty, which
would be modelled along the lines of human rights treaties and the
international land mine treaty. But this is anathema to some
countries, who argue that the world already has global climate
agreements and just needs to put them into action.There are also a
confusing number of existing pacts and pledges, reflecting the
complexity of shifting the global economy to a low-carbon footing and
the desire of some countries to stamp their identity on projects they
are funding. The danger is that, instead of working harmoniously
together, nations could splinter into smaller groups.

6. ROADMAPS NEED A DESTINATION AND A DEADLINEOne word that came up
time and again was roadmap, or in other words, a clear plan for
transitioning away from fossil fuels. One global roadmap will not be
enough. Every country will need its own, and there are two key
requirements: the destination, which should be a full phase-out of
fossil fuels; and a timetable, because with global temperatures
continuing to break records, time is fast running out.

7. GOVERNMENTS MUST BE FREE TO GOVERNInvestor-state dispute settlement
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is a legal mechanism contained in many trade agreements, which allows
companies and financiers to sue governments in secret tribunals for
their policies. It has been used by fossil fuel companies to sue
governments that resolved to reduce dependency on coal, oil or gas, or
enacted measures boosting renewables: companies have demanded and, in
at least $100bn worth of cases
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received compensation for loss of earnings.Climate activists, experts,
and many developing countries want an end to ISDS
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which they say is a serious legal and financial obstacle
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to a cleaner world.

8. CRITICAL MINERALS WILL BE CRITICALIf the world is to transition
away from fossil fuels, there must be a new renewable energy economy
to transition to
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That will require the construction of billions of wind turbines, solar
panels, electric vehicles and batteries. All of this requires
components made of critical minerals
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– metals such as copper, cobalt, nickel and harder-to-get materials
such as gallium, germanium and niobium.Mining for some of these has
resulted in horrific human rights abuses and despoliation of natural
landscapes. Activists in Santa Marta raised concerns over the plight
of workers and Indigenous people, and the need for proper regulations
and a clean, fair transition for local communities.

9. INDIGENOUS RIGHTS MUST BE RESPECTEDIndigenous peoples protect the
vast majority of the world’s remaining terrestrial carbon sinks and
areas of biodiversity, but have long struggled to secure a seat on the
top table of UN climate negotiations. At Santa Marta, for the first
time, Indigenous representatives drew up their proposals in an
autonomous debating space and participated in the high-level segments.

It did not satisfy everyone, but it gave leaders an opportunity to
tell ministers directly that they needed to pay more heed to
Indigenous knowledge, the protection of Indigenous rights and the
importance of nature in the transition. “Our territories are
fundamental to maintaining life on this planet. Where our rights are
respected, nature is protected,” said Oswaldo Muca Castizo, the
general coordinator of the Organization of Indigenous Peoples of the
Colombian Amazon.

10. TUVALU IS THE NEXT STEPTranslating the feel-good vibe of Santa
Marta into concrete proposals will be the task of the next conference,
which is expected to take place in Tuvalu, co-hosted by Ireland, in
early 2027.

_Jonathan Watts is the Guardian's global environment writer. Twitter
@jonathanwatts_

_Fiona Harvey is an environment editor at the Guardian_

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