The COP30 climate conference in Belem, Brazil, was an utter failure in terms of moving the world any closer to a sustainable, fossil-free future. However, one bright moment was a side event hosted by Colombia and the Netherlands, at which they announced plans to host an international conference to begin preparing a fully-funded, fair, fossil fuel phase-out. The conference will be held in Santa Marta, Colombia from April 28-29, 2026, with civil society dialogues taking place in the preceding days. The goal is to bring together those countries committed to a fossil fuel phase-out and to begin unblocking the barriers to achieving this.
24 countries signed the Belem Declaration on a Just Transition Away from Fossil Fuels. These were Australia, Austria, Belgium, Cambodia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Denmark, Fiji, Finland, Ireland, Jamaica, Kenya, Luxembourg, Marshall Islands, Mexico, Micronesia, Nepal, Netherlands, Panama, Spain, Slovenia, Vanuatu and Tuvalu. These are the countries leading the way and the conference in April will be an important milestone on the way – hopefully – to a new Fossil Fuel Treaty!
The Warheads to Windmills Coalition has signed on to the Fossil Fuel Treaty Initiative and sees this as a crucial opportunity, like the Nuclear Ban Treaty, to finally put real pressure on the corporations that are responsible for the world’s continued dependence on fossil fuels and nuclear weapons that threaten our future.