Carbon Brief Analysis: Santa Marta Summit Launches Three Fossil Fuel Phase-Out Workstreams, Next Meeting in Tuvalu

Carbon Brief and Climate Change News published detailed analysis on April 30 of the key outcomes from the First International Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels in Santa Marta, Colombia (April 24–29, 2026). The summit established three formal workstreams: (1) a technical workstream to map concrete pathways for reducing fossil fuel demand sector-by-sector; (2) a finance workstream to design transition finance mechanisms for developing-nation fossil fuel workers and communities; and (3) a legal workstream to develop the architecture of a potential future binding treaty instrument. Fifty-seven countries representing roughly one-third of global GDP participated. The follow-up conference was confirmed for Tuvalu in 2027, co-hosted by Tuvalu and Ireland. A new Science Panel for the Global Energy Transition (SPGET) — led by Johan Rockström (Potsdam Institute) and Carlos Nobre (University of São Paulo) — was formally launched and will report to both the Santa Marta process and COP31. Outcomes are designed to feed into updated NDC submissions due under the Paris Agreement's Global Stocktake cycle before COP31 in 2028.