In Santa Marta, Colombia, a group of approximately 50 nations—self-styled as the "coalition of the willing"—is convening to address the structural inertia of the fossil fuel economy. This summit, co-hosted by Colombia and the Netherlands, represents a focused alternative to the broader, often gridlocked negotiations of the UN climate circuit. It follows a significant impasse at COP30 in Brazil, where a formal roadmap for a global phaseout failed to gain universal consensus.
Ahead of the diplomatic talks, a synthesis report authored by a global cadre of academics has set a provocative baseline for the discussion. According to documents seen by *Carbon Brief*, the scientists are calling for an immediate cessation of all new fossil-fuel expansion. This recommendation challenges the prevailing "bridge fuel" narrative, explicitly advising governments to reject natural gas as a temporary solution and instead move directly toward electrification and renewable alternatives.
The report’s twelve "action insights" extend beyond production into the realm of domestic policy and public perception. Recommendations include the elimination of production and consumption subsidies and the establishment of a legal framework to ban fossil-fuel advertising. As oil prices remain volatile and climate impacts intensify, the Santa Marta summit serves as a litmus test for whether a smaller, more committed group of nations can bypass the consensus-driven paralysis of larger summits to chart a definitive path toward decarbonization.
With reporting from Carbon Brief.
Source · Carbon Brief
