60+ Nations Confirmed for Historic First Fossil Fuel Transition Conference in Colombia

Climate Change News reported on April 23 that over 60 countries had confirmed attendance at the First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels, opening April 24 in Santa Marta, Colombia. Attending nations span a wide spectrum: major fossil fuel producers including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Nigeria, Norway, and the UK agreed to participate alongside climate-vulnerable island states such as Fiji, Tuvalu, and the Maldives, plus EU members France, Spain, and Denmark with the European Union. Conspicuously absent are the world's largest emitters and producers — the United States, China, Russia, India, Saudi Arabia, and Japan — which together account for nearly half of global oil production and the majority of global emissions. The conference, jointly hosted by Colombia and the Netherlands, is designed as a solutions-focused forum outside the UNFCCC's all-countries consensus process, aiming to develop concrete fossil fuel phase-out roadmaps for committed nations.