A group of panelists and organizers stand together at the “Decolonization and Demilitarization at the Heart of Climate Justice” COP30 side event, Nov. 18, 2025, Belém, Brazil. Credit: Grassroots Global Justice Alliance.

The following excerpt comes from the North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA) website, written by JTA’s José T. Bravo, Fernando Tormos-Aponte, and Catalina de Onís.

From April 24-29, 2026, people from across the globe will converge in Santa Marta, Colombia, for the First Conference on Transitioning away from Fossil Fuels. The conference is the first in 31 years of international climate negotiations dedicated specifically to transitioning away from fossil fuels, a focus that departs from the more limited scope of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). 

This convergence is a notable step forward. During the six-day event, at least 50 states will be involved, guided by co-hosts Colombia and the Netherlands. The conference follows the successful Peoples’ Summit in Belém, Brazil, a gathering last November in which social movements, labor unions and frontline workers, Afro-descendants, and Indigenous Peoples achieved broad alignment on just transition demands. The grassroots movement power-building generated during the summit continues to exert positive pressure, as a significant number of countries are finally signaling a willingness to address the elephant in the room: fossil fuels. 

Even still, we ask: will the conversations and priorities that emerge from the Santa Marta meeting align with a just transition that responds to the urgency of this moment?