[Kasalikasan] What a new ‘coalition of the willing’ means for the climate

It’s a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment, but not for climate and environmental advocates: in late April, 57 countries (including the Philippines) representing one-third of the world’s economy gathered at Santa Marta, Colombia, for the First Conference on Transitioning Away From Fossil Fuels (TAFF), a meeting borne out of tensions during 2025’s COP30 in Belém, Brazil — months before the conflict in Iran highlighted the risks and vulnerabilities of continued fossil fuel dependence.
At the first-ever TAFF, this “coalition of the willing” discussed three thematic pillars: reducing economic dependence on fossil fuels, transforming supply and demand, and advancing international cooperation and climate diplomacy.
“Their aim was not to develop new targets, but how to advance and accelerate the implementation of agreed goals,” said an April 30 statement from co-hosts Santa Marta, Colombia, and the Netherlands.
In the same statement, the co-hosts aptly put what “transitioning away from fossil fuels” — language that brought much tension to recent United Nations climate talks — really means:
“Transitioning away from fossil fuels is more than replacing one energy source with another. It requires broad economic transformation to overcome structural dependencies, overcome debt constraints, expand reliable energy access, and support diversified, resilient economies. This must be planned with workers and communities, ensuring a transition that is fair, rights-based, and delivers tangible benefits for marginalized groups.”
Filipino climate activist and former negotiator Yeb Saño called the gathering that was held “outside the rigid structures of the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change)” as “historic,” but he put the spotlight on civil society outside conference doors, which showed what the transition must look like.
“Dialogue is necessary, and we must commend the Santa Marta Conference for laying the groundwork. But dialogue without binding commitments is a luxury the rendered vulnerable cannot afford. The Santa Marta framework offers a vessel, but it is civil society, indigenous peoples, faith communities, and those at the frontlines that must provide the compass,” Saño wrote.
Delegates agreed on three workstreams: developing roadmaps away from fossil fuels and aligning them with countries’ nationally determined contributions; changing financial systems to better facilitate the transition; and “advancing progress toward a fossil fuel-free trade system.”
Outcomes at Santa Marta are aimed at accelerating progress at COP31 in Turkey this November. They also set the stage for the second TAFF, happening in Tuvalu in 2027 and co-hosted with Ireland.
To echo Covering Climate Now’s Mark Hertsgaard: Could this be a climate conference that actually works? Only time will tell. But in a world where even the mention of the words “fossil fuel” still divide nations, a coalition of the willing that’s already looking for a fossil fuel exit door is historic, indeed. 
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– Rappler.com

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