‘Good atmosphere’
Many major fossil fuel producers turned out for the event, from wealthy economies like Canada and Norway to developing oil giants like Angola and Brazil.
The United States, China, Saudi Arabia and Russia, among other major producers and consumers of fossil fuels, did not show up.
The conference bypassed the United Nations climate process altogether, reflecting a growing impatience with its failure to tackle fossil fuels, the main driver of global warming.
Many nations spoke of the relief at not having to cobble an agreement by consensus between nearly 200 nations, a process that takes nearly two weeks at the annual COP climate summits and often ends in bitter disappointment.
“You could really feel it there, that it’s somehow a new beginning or a wake-up call, like things can’t go on this way,” German environment state secretary Jochen Flasbarth told reporters, noting “a very good atmosphere here.”
Away from the conference rooms on the Caribbean coast, oil prices surged on Wednesday to their highest level since early 2022, underlining the risk of fossil fuel reliance.
The global energy crisis triggered by the Middle East war dominated the talks, with fossil fuels cast as a threat to energy independence as much as the climate.
Tough message
For many nations, particularly developing fossil fuel producers, phasing out a major source of state revenue is easier said than done.
“Not phasing out, phase down. That is the message,” Onuoha Magnus Chidi, an adviser to Nigeria’s regional development minister, told AFP in Santa Marta.
“People are going to lose their jobs…How are you trying to re-engage them in other sectors?” said the delegate from one of Africa’s biggest oil and gas producers.
Nearly 200 countries agreed at COP28 in 2023 to transition away from fossil fuels, but efforts to turn that pledge into action have stalled.
The discussions in Santa Marta would feed into a voluntary “roadmap” aimed at moving the world away from fossil fuels being compiled by Brazil, said Ana Toni, CEO of last year’s COP30.
