top of page
  • MastodonIcon_FullTransparent
  • Bluesky_Logo
  • Instagram
Search

Climate Leadership

  • 4 hours ago
  • 2 min read

Colombia moves away from fossil fuels


Colombia, South America, is moving away from fossil fuels with two of its own actions:

  1. Colombia is leaving the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) system.

  2. Colombia has hosted the First International Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels.

Both are important steps to reducing the carbon footprint of humankind.


What is ISDS?


The ISDS system allows a fossil fuel company to hire a private arbitration center in the country where that firm is based. Fossil fuel companies use this system to sue governments in an effort to undermine environmental laws and to claim loss of income when a fossil fuel company is not allowed to explore or extract fossil fuels. Governments usually lose cases filed in the ISDS system. Colombia has decided to leave this system while acknowledging it won’t be easy. The government of Colombia is hopeful that European countries will follow suit and leave the EU Energy Charter Treaty (ECT).


The threat that the ISDS system poses to countries has often stood in the way of bolder action to mitigate climate change. With Colombia leading the way, we hope that more countries will follow suit for a true dismantlement of the ISDS system.



The First International Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels

Digital art of a Colombian girl standing in front of an oil rig, with a bird flying above. They form the logo for the conference. Source: https://transitionawayconference.com/ .
Illustration: The Transition Away from Fossil Fuels conference logo. Source: https://transitionawayconference.com/

Colombia and the Netherlands hosted the First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels! The conference was held in Santa Marta, Colombia, from 24th to 29th April 2026. The goal was to create a space for countries and stakeholders that recognize the need to move away from fossil fuels in a way that is just, orderly, equitable, and aligned with climate goals and the best available science. 53 nations participated in this conference.


The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement are essential forums for global climate action; however, their consensus-based structures can allow actors backed by polluting industries to stall progress. This Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels conference was not intended to replace these agreements or negotiate a new treaty, but to provide a more flexible space for countries and stakeholders ready to go further and faster in advancing a just transition beyond current commitments.


Fridays For Future was one of the stakeholders of the Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels conference. We attended the conference to make our case heard. Some of us arrived with the Climate Justice Flotilla, which started its journey at the beginning of April. Others travelled to the conference directly.


Our demands were to ensure a safe future for all!

  • An immediate halt to all new fossil fuel projects.

  • A complete phase-out of fossil fuel extraction.

  • Equity must be at the heart of decision-making.


This first conference is already making results.


Columbia has published a draft roadmap to phase out fossil fuels, France is the first European nation to publish a roadmap to phase out fossil fuels which included a timetable: Remove coal from its national grid by 2027; end oil dependency by 2045; and fossil gas by 2050. The expanding debt crisis in the global south is being recognized and solutions are being sought, tho this conference will not produce new promises of cash for developing countries to help them out of their debt traps

 
 
 

Comments

bottom of page