Source: Amnesty International –
The First conference on Transitioning away from Fossil Fuels sent a strong political signal that the age of fossil fuels must end; this “coalition of the doers” must now turn their commitment into proactive international cooperation to pave the way for rights-based just transitions, Amnesty International said today after the end of the Santa Marta conference yesterday.
Jointly convened by the governments of Colombia and the Netherlands, the conference brought together representatives from 57 fossil fuel producing and consuming countries, alongside parliamentarians, academics, trade unions, civil society organisations, and representatives of Indigenous Peoples, Afro‑descendant communities, children and youth movements and peasant communities, among others.
Held from 24 to 29 April, the meeting took place against the backdrop of a global energy crisis fuelled by armed conflicts and growing frustration with the UN climate negotiations, which have failed for three decades to meaningfully confront fossil fuel production despite the urgency of the climate crisis.
“This conference, which emerged as idea among a growing group of countries engaged in the Fossil Fuel Treaty Initiative, happened because existing multilateral processes are not delivering. For 30 years, COPs have failed to confront the root causes of the climate crisis head on,” said Candy Ofime, Amnesty International’s researcher and legal advisor on Climate Justice. “Santa Marta showed there is political appetite for states to defossilize the global economy and embark in just transitions, but that momentum must now translate into concrete action rooted in human rights.”
Santa Marta showed there is political appetite for states to defossilize the global economy and embark in just transitions, but that momentum must now translate into concrete action rooted in human rights.
Candy Ofime, Amnesty International’s researcher and legal advisor on Climate Justice