The 1st international conference on “Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels” — also called “The Santa Marta Conference” — was held from April 24-29, 2026 in Santa Marta, Colombia.
The conference was co-organised by Colombia and the Netherlands and brought together mostly officials, climate researchers & advocates, and finance professionals from 56 countries to identify legal, economic, and social pathways to phase out fossil fuels (coal, gas, oil) in a just and sustainable manner.
The success from this conference in Santa Marta depended in our view on the following two questions:
- Will the global community honestly admit, politics failed to stay within the stable “1.5°C global warming limit” and give the power now to the sovereign, the people?
- Will there be a decision towards a first official global referendum on ‘climate action’ with potentially 5.5 billion people easily participating (they are connected to the World Wide Web)?
Juan David Rojas Calle (IDGR research-lead economy) attended the conference with this very clear focus. You can now read his reflection about the conference within his paper “Why the post-fossil era requires global democracy and a global GHG market“.
picture by Juan David Rojas Calle shows main conference stage from “The Santa Marta Conference”.
