50 Nations Plan Fossil Fuel Exit at Colombia Summit

Nearly 50 countries will meet in Colombia later this month to do something that's never been done before: create a real plan to leave fossil fuels behind.

The First International Conference on the Just Transition Away from Fossil Fuels runs April 24-29 in Santa Marta, Colombia. Unlike the often gridlocked UN climate summits, this conference uses majority voting instead of requiring every nation to agree, making actual progress much more likely.

The nations attending represent a combined economic output of $33.3 trillion. That's bigger than the entire US economy and far larger than China's, giving this group serious leverage to reshape global energy markets.

The timing couldn't be better. Right now, more than 10 million barrels of oil per day are stuck in the Hormuz Strait, showing just how risky it is to depend on imported fossil fuels. Meanwhile, solar and wind power keep getting cheaper, making clean energy the smart economic choice.

Sophie Hermans, the Netherlands' Deputy Prime Minister for Climate Policy, said the world has clear momentum to phase out fossil fuels. "Now is the time to capitalize on it," she explained.

The conference will tackle one of the biggest challenges: how to eliminate the $7 trillion governments spend each year subsidizing fossil fuels without hurting workers and communities who depend on those jobs. Representatives from oil-dependent nations like Brazil, Angola, Vietnam, and Mexico will share ideas alongside climate activists, Indigenous leaders, and union representatives.

Germany, France, Norway, and the Netherlands are among the European nations attending. California Governor Gavin Newsom, who might run for US president in 2028, has also been invited.

The Ripple Effect

What makes this conference different is its focus on real solutions instead of endless debate. Organizers stress they want "actionable" plans that governments can actually implement, not just more promises.

The conference builds on frustration from last year's COP30 climate summit, where the words "fossil fuels" didn't even appear in the final agreement despite 85 countries pushing for a phase-out plan. Those 85 nations included economic powerhouses like Germany, the UK, France, Spain, Brazil, and Mexico.

By gathering countries willing to act, rather than waiting for everyone to agree, this coalition could finally turn climate goals into concrete steps. When the world's willing nations have more economic muscle than any single country, change becomes possible.

The summit begins in just nine days, with the potential to reshape how the world powers itself.