From 24 to 29 April 2026, RISE UP participated in the First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels in Santa Marta, Colombia. Co-hosted by the Governments of Colombia and the Netherlands, the conference marked the first international space dedicated specifically to how countries can transition away from fossil fuels.

While the conference did not result in a binding agreement, it represented an important political and practical milestone. The conversation shifted decisively from whether countries should move away from coal, oil, and gas, to how that transition can be planned, financed, governed and implemented.

Khadija Stewart, Senior Campaigner at RISE UP, participated throughout the week in technical workshops, civil society spaces and community discussions, helping bring ocean and climate justice perspectives into the centre of the dialogue.

Why the conference mattered

The Santa Marta discussions were organised around three main pillars: reducing economic dependence on fossil fuels, transforming fossil fuel supply and demand, and strengthening international cooperation and climate diplomacy.

In practice, however, the conversations extended far beyond energy systems. They touched on debt, sovereignty, development, biodiversity, labour, ocean governance and community rights. This reflected a growing recognition that the fossil fuel transition is not only a technical energy shift, but a deep structural transformation of global economic and political systems.

For RISE UP, one message remained central throughout the week: there can be no credible transition away from fossil fuels without addressing the ocean.

Offshore oil and gas exploration continues to impact marine ecosystems, fisheries, coastal livelihoods and ocean-dependent communities, yet it remains underrepresented in global transition debates. Santa Marta created an important opportunity to bring offshore fossil fuel production more directly into phase-out conversations.

For many coastal communities, the ocean is not abstract. It is food security, culture, livelihoods and survival. Any transition away from fossil fuels must reflect that reality.

Khadija Stewart, RISE UP Senior Campaigner

Bringing ocean and coastal realities into the transition

Ahead of the conference, RISE UP engaged through the Ocean and Climate Cluster to ensure that ocean and coastal priorities were reflected in civil society inputs and recommendations.

A key proposal was the creation of a Coastal Just Transition Investment Programme designed to ensure that coastal and island communities are not left behind in the global energy transition. Rather than treating them as passive recipients of policy decisions, the proposal called for direct investment in sustainable fisheries, coastal restoration, blue carbon initiatives, regenerative tourism, climate-resilient maritime sectors, circular economy approaches and community-led renewable energy systems.

A major concern raised throughout these discussions was accessibility. Transition finance often exists in theory but remains difficult to access in practice, particularly for grassroots and community-based organisations. The Cluster therefore emphasised the need for simplified, equitable financial mechanisms that can reach those most affected by fossil fuel extraction and climate impacts.

Alongside this, partners advanced a No New Frontiers Transition Policy. This called for an end to new offshore oil and gas expansion, stronger environmental safeguards, improved marine spatial planning, and enhanced protection of biodiversity and coastal livelihoods. It also highlighted concerns around emerging “green” extractive industries such as deep-sea mining, which risk repeating historical patterns of exploitation under a new label.

At the heart of these proposals was a shared principle: the energy transition must not reproduce the same extractive and exclusionary systems that created the climate crisis.

Offshore wind, community rights and ocean justice

One of the key sessions hosted by RISE UP focused on coastal community perspectives on offshore wind development. The discussion brought together small-scale fishers, Indigenous Peoples and local communities to reflect on the rapid expansion of offshore renewable energy infrastructure.

While there was strong support for the global shift away from fossil fuels, participants raised important concerns about how the transition is being implemented. These included loss of access to fishing grounds, impacts on marine biodiversity, weak consultation processes, lack of transparency and the risk of large-scale ocean industrialisation without meaningful consent.

A clear message emerged: renewable energy is necessary, but it must not replicate the extractive, exclusionary and top-down models of the fossil fuel era.

Communities stressed that participation cannot be reduced to consultation after decisions have already been made. Instead, they called for early and meaningful involvement in planning processes, with real influence over outcomes. The importance of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), biodiversity protection and community-centred ocean governance was repeatedly emphasised.

Some organisations were strongly opposed to offshore wind and If the Santa Marta process is to remain relevant, it must directly contribute to the UNFCCC process, support stronger national and regional transition planning and help move countries from political statements to practical delivery.The workstreams should help shape stronger Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), long-term strategies, adaptation plans, finance discussions and just transition pathways within the UNFCCC and related ocean and biodiversity processes.

Civil society and frontline voices

Some of the most powerful moments of the conference came from civil society and peoples’ spaces. Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendant communities, youth, workers, fisherfolk, women and other frontline groups shared lived experiences of extraction, displacement, exclusion and climate impacts.

Across these spaces, a consistent message emerged: a just transition cannot be limited to changing energy sources. It must also address deeper structural inequalities, including debt burdens, economic dependence, exclusion from decision-making and unequal access to finance.

Participants called for stronger protection of livelihoods, meaningful participation in governance, accountability and repair for affected communities and fair access to transition finance and support.

RISE UP also joined public mobilisation activities alongside the Ocean Free of Fossil Fuels campaign and wider civil society movements calling for an end to offshore fossil fuel expansion.

Key outcomes from the Santa Marta Conference

Although no binding agreement was reached, the conference produced several important developments that will shape future global transition discussions.

One of the most significant outcomes was the launch of three new global workstreams focused on fossil fuel transition roadmaps, finance reform for the energy transition and fossil fuel-intensive trade. These workstreams represent an early attempt to move from broad political commitments toward more structured international coordination on implementation pathways.

Finance emerged as one of the most persistent challenges throughout the week. Many Global South countries emphasised that debt burdens, limited fiscal space and unequal access to affordable capital continue to constrain their ability to transition away from fossil fuels. This strengthened calls for debt relief, increased grant-based finance, and broader reform of the international financial system to better reflect climate realities and historical responsibility.

A further major development was the announcement of a new Science Panel for the Global Energy Transition. The panel is intended to provide governments with independent, evidence-based guidance on transition pathways, technologies and policy design. For RISE UP, this also reinforces the importance of ensuring that ocean science, Indigenous knowledge systems and community-led evidence are meaningfully integrated into formal transition planning processes.

Another notable shift was the more explicit recognition of fossil fuel production itself (not only emissions) as a central driver of the climate crisis. This represented an important political opening, creating space to address upstream extraction decisions, including offshore oil and gas expansion, as part of global phase-out discussions.

Several interventions also reflected the political realities of transition. Nigeria’s Minister Abubakar Momoh captured this framing, noting: “It is not whether extraction should decline, but how to organise it so it is manageable, fair and politically viable across countries.”

This perspective highlighted the tensions many countries face, including energy security, development needs, fiscal dependence on fossil fuel revenues, and the political complexity of sequencing a just transition.

Finally, it was confirmed that the next conference will be co-hosted by Tuvalu and Ireland in 2027. This decision is politically significant, as it places a Small Island Developing State at the centre of the next phase of global discussions, alongside a European co-host, helping elevate the perspectives of frontline ocean and island communities.

What comes next

For RISE UP, Santa Marta represents an important step forward, but the real test lies in implementation. The next phase must move beyond political dialogue and focus on delivery in practice.

This includes integrating offshore oil and gas into fossil fuel phase-out planning, protecting marine ecosystems and coastal livelihoods, supporting community-led renewable energy systems, ensuring meaningful participation and consent and strengthening accountability mechanisms within just transition frameworks.

It also requires transition pathways that reflect the realities of coastal and island states, where climate vulnerability, limited infrastructure and constrained fiscal space shape what is feasible and fair.

A just transition cannot be reduced to technological change or economic growth alone. It must address who bears the risks, who benefits and who holds power in decision-making.

For coastal and island communities, this means more than new jobs in renewable energy. It means protecting livelihoods, respecting Indigenous and community rights, ensuring early and meaningful participation, access to finance, worker protections, benefit-sharing, cultural protection, food security and the right to say no to projects that threaten communities or ecosystems.

For communities already affected by fossil fuel extraction, offshore development, climate impacts and economic precarity, a just transition must also mean repair and accountability. This includes the polluter-pays principle, ecosystem restoration, compensation for harmed livelihoods, and investment in locally grounded alternatives such as sustainable fisheries, coastal restoration, regenerative tourism, blue carbon, circular economy initiatives and community-owned renewable energy.

A transition that does not address harm, history, and power cannot be called just.