Santa Marta opens a new front for fossil fuel phase out

The first Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels in Santa Marta has just concluded. As the fallout from yet another fossil fuel price crisis underlines the extreme fragility of the current fossil energy system, Santa Marta created a space for countries that want to move faster and to talk seriously about how to leave coal, oil and gas behind.

This space was important. The countries gathered in Santa Marta did not include all the world’s major emitters / fossil fuel producers, but this was a feature, not a bug. With some countries acting as blockers of climate action in the UNFCCC, creating space to discuss fossil fuel phase-out within a group of the willing can actually help build momentum that drives action, moving beyond constraints that have stalled elsewhere.

But the Santa Marta participants still account for a meaningful share of the global fossil fuel economy, including major importers and exporters. They represent large shares of fossil fuel trade: 48% of gas imports, 34% of oil imports, 20% of coal imports, 39% of coal exports, 32% of gas exports and 22% of oil exports. What these countries do now – particularly as buyers – could shape investment signals, trade relationships, and the expectations placed on producers, to help shift the political economy of fossil fuels.