Climate Justice Flotilla
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Wishing the Climate Justice Flotilla, Fair Winds and Following Seas!
Frontline climate activists will set sail on a voyage for justice this April 2026. The Climate Justice Flotilla will sail toward the first international conference dedicated to phasing out fossil fuels.
The flotilla consists of just 4 or 5 boats, small in number, but big in potential impact, especially if we all contribute.
Will you lend a hand? Help the flotilla sail to success!
A Crucial Conference
The Transition Away Conference in Santa Marta, Colombia, is a landmark climate event.
During COP30 in Belém, dozens of countries signed a declaration calling for a fair and gradual phase-out of fossil fuels. Colombia and the Netherlands took the lead in this initiative to organize a conference in Santa Marta, bringing together countries, organizations and movements to discuss concrete solutions.
This conference is truly solution-oriented, which is why it’s vital that our message reaches its participants. We aim to highlight the colonial roots of fossil fuel extraction in the Caribbean and, more broadly, present our demands for climate justice.
“Standing in solidarity with the climate justice flotilla, we affirm that decolonization is a necessary pathway to dismantle the historical extractivism that has long shaped our region and the world.” says Shurabe M., a young activist with the Latin American NGO Tierra Nuestra. “We unite to reject an energy model rooted in extraction and racialized harm, and to uplift a shared vision grounded in justice, reciprocity, and care.”
Shurabe continues: “In doing so, we honor the call for collective action, where our seas no longer serve as routes of exploitation, but as bridges of solidarity, connecting our struggles and our hopes for a just and livable future.”
Our Demands
A binding Treaty to limit fossil fuels
Debt cancellation and reparations for climate damages in the Global South
A Just Transition and reduced consumption in the Global North
A Powerful Message
With only one chance to make an impact, the flotilla’s activists will gather testimonies from the peoples of Saint Maarten, Bonaire, Curaçao, and Aruba.
For centuries, these Caribbean islands have been exploited, from the days of colonial trade routes to today’s oil and coal commerce. The result? Severe pollution, environmental damage, and the devastating impacts of climate change, which hits the Global South hardest.
Participation of the Islanders
On each island, the flotilla will host forums and community meetings to address specific issues. Paolo, who will join one of the boats, explains: “In Saint Maarten, for example, we’ll discuss climate-related damages, like those caused by Hurricane Irma. In Curaçao, desalination plants run on oil, making the island dependent on fossil fuels. We’ll explore whether traditional rainwater harvesting - an Indigenous method - could be a solution. We’ll invite about ten islanders to join us at the conference table during the Peoples Summit for a Fossil Free Future on April 24th. This way, governments will receive a vivid, firsthand account of the situation and potential solutions.”
I want to help! climatejusticeflotilla.org/donate
Funding Needed: €40,000–50,000!
The flotilla’s sailboat journey will not go unnoticed. Activists will draw international attention to climate justice through radio documentaries, videos, social media posts, banners, flyers and more. They operate frugally; for instance, four skippers have volunteered their boats for the outbound voyage.
Meet the Crew
Christophe is one of the skippers. He is a wise (and wild) old salty dog, a former professional skipper with many offshore passages to his name, including a sailing expedition to Antarctica where he witnessed first hand the effects of tourism on the last pristine environment on the planet.
He naturally found his place in the CJF team as the Logistics coordinator, as well as one of the webmasters.
Christophe is a long time member of XR Ireland and the proud father of one of the founding members of Friday for Future Ireland, so he is well aware of the increasingly catastrophic effects that fossil fuel extraction has on the planet and on all beings living on it.
He lives a simple, low impact lifestyle, travelling the world on board his beloved sailing boat, Apsara. Apsara will be the lead boat for the Flotilla action to Santa Marta.
Help Cover the Costs
To bring islanders home after the conference, the flotilla needs to fund additional transportation. Other expenses include port fees, provisions, water, communication materials and satellite internet.
Sending four boats requires €40,000; for five boats - and even greater impact - €50,000. But whether it’s four or five, the flotilla will make waves.
Will you help the Climate Justice Flotilla set sail for success?
Yes, I’m in! climatejusticeflotilla.org/donate
Thank you for your support!
Follow the Climate Justice Flotilla at climatejusticeflotilla.org
For more on the conference: transitionawayconference.com
The Route
The Climate Justice Flotilla will sail approximately 1,000 nautical miles across the Caribbean:
April 6 – Departure from Sint Maarten
April 12 – Bonaire
April 15 – Curaçao
April 18 – Aruba
April 21–29 – Santa Marta, Colombia
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