It could be described as the “challenge of the century”.
Energy ministers from some 50 countries are gathering for a two-day summit from April 28-29 in the city of Santa Marta, at the foot of Colombia’s Sierra Nevada mountain range, to address the crucial question of how to move away from fossil fuels – the main drivers of global warming – once and for all.
Organised by Bogota, the summit was prompted by a sobering realisation: when it comes to tackling gas, oil and coal production, the major UN COP meetings are no longer enough. This became clear at the conclusion of COP28 in Dubai in 2023 after a landmark decision to adopt the convention’s final text mentioned the need to begin to “transition away from fossil fuels”.
But negotiations have stalled since then. Consensus has been thwarted with discussions systematically blocked by the major oil and gas-producing countries.
However, the Santa Marta conference may well break the deadlock in climate diplomacy. The question is no longer whether or not fossil fuels should be phased out but rather how the most ambitious countries wrestling with the challenges of climate change can achieve concrete solutions.
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‘What is more poisonous for humanity: cocaine, coal or oil?’
It is no coincidence that Colombia is hosting this unprecedented summit. In the small world of oil-producing nations, Gustavo Petro, the country’s first left-wing president, stands out as somewhat of an outsider. Since his inauguration in August 2022, he has consistently criticised the devastating "addiction" to oil that is harming the planet and pledged to transform Colombia, Latin America’s fourth-largest oil exporter, into an economy "free of oil and coal".
A month later, during his first speech to the UN General Assembly, Petro did not shy away from controversy. “What is more poisonous for humanity: cocaine, coal or oil?" he asked.
At COP28 in Dubai, capital of the oil-rich United Arab Emirates, only three months after his UN address, he summed up his philosophy.
“Some will ask how I can contemplate such economic suicide [by doing away with fossil fuels], given that we depend on oil and coal,” he said.
"But today we are witnessing a massive clash between fossil capital and human life, and we must choose a side. We are choosing the side of life."
Renewable energy programmes
Petro’s verbal facility and quickfire soundbites have translated into action on the ground, even when they’ve ruffled the feathers of his most strident opponents. Shortly after being elected, he increased taxes on hydrocarbons, banned all new oil exploration contracts and launched a campaign promoting “the country’s rich biodiversity” rather than its fossil fuel reserves.
In 2025 his environment minister, Irene Velez Torres, declared the “Colombian Amazon free from all extractive exploitation”.
As for hydraulic fracturing – or fracking as it is commonly known – a process used to extract shale gas, all new projects have been suspended until further notice while a legislative standoff is under way between the government and Congress over moves to ban them permanently.
At the same time, the government has launched various renewable energy programmes, such as "Colombia Solar". With a budget of $2 billion (€1.7 billion) up to 2030, its goal is to install solar farms and rooftop panels, especially in the Caribbean region, which enjoys year-round sunshine.
Experts acknowledge Petro has made significant strides in transitioning the country’s energy supplies away from fossil fuels.
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While the majority of Colombia’s electricity remains hydroelectric, the proportion of solar and wind power has surged within the country’s energy mix. Its share has risen from 2% in 2022 to 17% in 2026, according to government figures. Last year, solar power overtook coal for the first time.
"The year 2025 marked the first time that exports in terms of remittances and foreign exchange earnings from coffee exceeded those from coal. And 2025 was also the first year in which Colombia generated more energy from unconventional renewable sources, particularly solar power, than from coal," said Velez Torres, speaking on the sidelines of the Santa Marta summit.
Nearly 30% of the country’s exports
But despite the minister’s efforts, oil and gas still account for 4% of GDP and 30% of exports – meaning the country is far from shaking off the shackles of fossil fuel dependency.
“Oil remains a driving force behind the Colombian economy,” Tomas Gonzalez, director of the Regional Centre for Energy Studies (CREE), told the newspaper El Tiempo. “It still accounts for a third of exports and brings in nearly $15 billion for the Colombian state. In a country running a deficit like Colombia, oil revenues are essential for the state’s finances,” the economist added.
"There has been progress," but this does not amount to "a genuine energy transition", Oscar Vanegas, a professor of economics at the Industrial University of Santander, told AFP.
Moving away from fossil fuels "will take several decades", acknowledges energy planning specialist Ismael Suescun, explaining that “it is not just a matter of stopping the exploration and extraction of hydrocarbons”. It is a matter of “being aware of the gradual nature” required to transition the energy sector of a country whose budget deficit is high and where revenues remain tethered to hydrocarbons.
A symbol for how difficult that transition is likely to be can be found just 200 kilometres away from the Santa Marta talks. Operated by the multinational Glencore, the Cerrejon mine is one of the world’s largest open-cast coal mines and is regularly criticised for its environmental and social impacts.
Climate diplomacy
In hosting this conference just a few weeks before the end of his presidential term, Petro is undoubtedly hoping to reach beyond his country’s borders and once again position himself as a leader on the diplomatic stage in the global fight against fossil fuels.
In 2023, Colombia became the first non-island, oil-producing country to commit to the draft treaty on the non-proliferation of fossil fuels. Launched by a group of Pacific island nations, the initiative received the backing of the European Parliament, the World Health Organization and 100 cities and local governments, and aims to persuade states to commit to energy transition.
Last year, Petro was the first to publicly denounce the failure of fossil fuel negotiations at COP30 in Belem, Brazil. Today, he may well hope to be the first to spearhead a new diplomatic chapter by championing the first international scheme to regulate, or limit, the production of hydrocarbons and coal. A follow-up conference planned for Tuvalu in autumn – on the sidelines of a meeting of heads of state ahead of COP31 – could well provide him with the chance to do so.
This article has been adapted from the original in French by Nicole Trian.
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