https://www.ciel.org/news/santa-marta-conference-april-landmark-moment-f...
The US-Israel war with Iran and attacks on surrounding countries are unleashing immense human suffering, upending the global economy, and underscoring the imperative to end reliance on coal, oil, and gas, including petrochemicals derived from them.
The Santa Marta conference presents an unprecedented opportunity for States to strengthen international cooperation toward a just transition away from fossil fuels. It is co-hosted by the governments of Colombia and the Netherlands, and will gather more than fifty countries from around the world.
Nikki Reisch, CIEL Climate & Energy Program Director, issued the following statement:
“At a time of escalating military conflicts and mounting planetary crises, it has never been more urgent to move off fossil fuels than it is today. Continued dependence on oil, gas, and coal is a colossal vulnerability and a growing liability that only deepens human suffering. Last year, the International Court of Justice made clear that States have binding legal duties to curb the main drivers of climate change — fossil fuel production and use — and to cooperate in good faith toward that end. But States cannot comply with those duties if they risk being sued by fossil fuel investors when they do so. That’s why Santa Marta must support a ‘coalition of the doers’ to recognize and remove legal barriers like Investor-State Dispute Settlement, to halt oil and gas expansion — particularly offshore — and to pursue effective international cooperation on fossil fuel phaseout, through the future negotiation of a Fossil Fuel Treaty. Phasing out fossil fuels is not just a scientific necessity and a legal obligation, it’s also a critical opportunity to break free from a destructive system.”
Lili Fuhr, CIEL Fossil Economy Program Director, issued the following statement:
”The US-Israeli war on Iran not only destroys human life and the environment, but erodes the rule of law. It also lays bare how vulnerable economies are to fossil-fueled shocks and supply disruptions — including through fossil fertilizers that raise the cost of food and expose food systems to price volatility. The Santa Marta conference must chart a clear path toward a Fossil Fuel Treaty that enables States to cooperate in phasing out all fossil fuels as science and law demand. The just transition away from coal, oil, and gas must also tackle expanding petrochemical production, which sustains fossil fuel demand, and reject dangerous distractions such as carbon capture, offsets, and geoengineering that delay real progress. Redirecting public finance and subsidies from these distractions toward real and proven solutions is essential to building a just fossil-free future.”
Key topics monitored by CIEL experts
The legal obligation to transition away from fossil fuels
The transition away from fossil fuels is demanded by science and required by international law, the world’s highest court, the International Court of Justice, clarified last year. This conference marks a shift from debate to coordinated action on implementing a managed, funded, and equitable phaseout of all fossil fuels.
A Fossil Fuel Treaty: the key to implementing the transition away from fossil fuels
A Fossil Fuel Treaty can make fossil fuel phaseout more achievable by lowering the costs of transition and creating shared incentives for countries to move together. Santa Marta must support a viable pathway toward future negotiation of a Fossil Fuel Treaty — a binding international agreement that enables States to meet their existing legal obligations to phase out fossil fuels. Decades of deadlock make clear that a dedicated forum on fossil fuels is essential to complement the UN climate negotiations and strengthen the implementation of the Paris Agreement.
Investor–State Dispute Settlement (ISDS)
An effective energy transition requires removing the barriers that delay and block the phaseout. States must take action to end ISDS, which raises the cost of phaseout by allowing foreign investors to sue governments for curbing fossil fuel activities.
Halting fossil fuel expansion in the ocean
States must halt the build-out of oil and gas everywhere, especially in the ocean and coastal areas. The first step to achieve a fossil-free ocean is ending new offshore oil and gas licensing. There can be no credible transition away from fossil fuels while their production continues — let alone if it increases.
Halting dangerous distractions and escape hatches
Petrochemicals — including plastics and ammonia — are a fast-growing driver of fossil fuel demand and a major barrier to phaseout, as the industry increasingly relies on them to sustain production and demand. States must halt petrochemical expansion and reject dangerous distractions such as carbon capture, offsets, and geoengineering that offer an escape hatch for the fossil fuel industry and delay the phaseout. Redirecting public finance and subsidies from these distractions toward real, proven solutions is essential to building a just fossil-free future.
Human rights
The energy transition must be just, rights-based, and fully resourced. The phaseout of fossil fuels must be grounded in human rights and accountability, center those most affected by the climate crisis, and ensure that historical polluters act first and fastest to provide the resources needed.
For more information
Beyond the Burn: Why Santa Marta Must Tackle the Petrochemical Build Out
CIEL Experts in Santa Marta
Nikki Reisch, Climate & Energy Program Director, focuses on the role of fossil fuels in the climate crisis, climate litigation and accountability, human rights, climate Advisory Opinions from international courts and tribunals, and Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS). Member of the Steering Committee for the Fossil Fuel Treaty Initiative.
Lili Fuhr, Fossil Economy Program Director, specializes in the role of fossil fuels in the climate crisis, petrochemicals (plastics & agrochemicals), and false climate solutions, including carbon capture and storage (CCS), carbon removal technologies, and geoengineering. Member of the Steering Committee for the Fossil Fuel Treaty Initiative. Follow Lili on BlueSky or LinkedIn.
Andrés Del Castillo, Senior Attorney, specializes in international negotiations, the legal aspects of the plastics treaty, and right holders’ involvement in multilateral processes. Follow Andrés on LinkedIn.
Bruna Campos, Offshore Oil and Gas Senior Campaigner, specializes in policies to halt the expansion of fossil fuels in the ocean and their phaseout. Covers the climate-biodiversity-ocean nexus. Follow Bruna on LinkedIn.
Delphine Lévi Alvarès, Global Petrochemicals Campaign Manager, specializes in strategy and movement-building to close one of the key escape hatches of the fossil fuel industry: petrochemical production, including plastics and ammonia. Follow Delphine on LinkedIn.
Johanna Gusman, Senior Attorney, Legal Pathways to Fossil Fuel Phaseout, focuses on fossil fuel phaseout, human rights, and just transition, including intersections with the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) and International Court of Justice (ICJ) Advisory Opinions. Follow Johanna on LinkedIn.
Melissa Blue Sky, Senior Attorney, specializes in the legal aspects of multilateral environmental agreement development, implementation, decision-making, and enforcement, as well as international trade and investment law (Investor–State Dispute Settlement, ISDS). Follow Melissa on LinkedIn.
Nathalie Eddy, Oil and Gas Legal & Campaign Manager, focuses on the fossil fuel phaseout of both onshore and offshore oil and gas, and specializes in the legal aspects of the phaseout, including in the ocean. Follow Nathalie on LinkedIn.
Media Contact
In Santa Marta, April 26-29: Maria Frausto, Communications Director + 1 202 569-8107 (Signal and WhatsApp), press@ciel.org
In Geneva, Niccolò Sarno, Global Media Relations + 41 22 506 80 37 (WhatsApp), press@ciel.org
