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As sharp divisions at UN talks stall progress on a shift away from fossil fuels, 24 countries have backed a first global conference on the transition, saying the summit in Colombia next April is needed to speed up efforts to wean the world off planet-heating oil, gas and coal.
The conference aims to bring together governments, experts, industry leaders and Indigenous people among others, to chart “legal, economic and social pathways” for a fair and just phase-out of fossil fuels, Colombia’s Environment Minister Irene Vélez Torres told journalists at COP30 on Friday.
Supporters of the initiative include major fossil fuel producers Australia and Mexico, as well as several European, Latin American and Pacific island nations.
Colombia and the Netherlands will co-host the event on April 28-29 in the Colombian port city of Santa Marta, which plays a significant role in coal exports.
Speaking after the release of a COP30 draft decision text that failed to mention fossil fuels, Vélez Torres told a packed-out room: “We know that this conversation cannot end here.”
“We must keep the momentum, lead with bravery, rise to the challenge, and build a coalition of the willing,” she added.
The conference is meant to sit alongside discussions taking place under the UN climate regime, where all 198 signatories need to reach decisions by consensus.
Conference to feed into COP31
Vanuatu’s climate minister Ralph Regenvanu said the Colombia-led coalition is needed to advance discussions over the transition regardless of what happens at COP30. The conference “will strengthen the process here next time we meet in Turkiye” at COP31, he added.
Australia, a backer of the initiative, announced this week that it will run negotiations at COP31 next year even though the conference will take place in the Turkish coastal city of Antalya.
The 24 countries signed a joint declaration supporting calls to develop a roadmap for the shift away from fossil fuels and setting out the conditions for a just and equitable transition.
Those include consideration of national circumstances and the need to support workers and vulnerable communities, as well as the importance of financial and technological support and of promoting diversified economies that reduce reliance on fossil fuel revenues.
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EU tables proposal for COP30 fossil fuel roadmap after settling internal rift
Reservations from Italy and Poland initially prevented the bloc from formally pushing for an agreement over a roadmap to transition away from fossil fuels in Belém -
Rich nations push back on calls for new just transition mechanism
The Belém Action Mechanism’s backers say it would fortify efforts to shield workers and communities hurt by fallout from the clean energy shift, but developed countries are resistant to the proposal
Alex Rafalowicz, director of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative, described the declaration as “historic”. That’s because for the first time a fossil-fuel producing country like Australia “recognises that production, licensing, subsidising and consumption [of fossil fuels] are matters of international concern”, he added.
Matthew Webb, associate director for Global Clean Power Diplomacy at think-tank E3G, said the coalition demonstrates “the growing and unprecedented level of support at COP30 to deliver a process for a roadmap to the just transition away from fossil fuels”.
With Australia now on board, there is a clear path for such a roadmap to be landed in Belem and taken forward into COP31, he added. Current draft texts do not refer to a fossil fuel transition roadmap, to the chagrin of some including the European Union, as well as Latin American and Pacific island states.
“Securing our survival”
Tuvalu’s climate minister Maina Talia expressed disappointment over the lack of a “survival map” for quitting fossil fuels at COP30, as his country faces an existential threat from rising sea levels.
He added that “after 30 years, this process is still failing us, so we will not wait” and instead work on a different process “to secure our survival”.
Johanna Gusman, senior attorney at the Center for International Environmental Law, described Colombia’s 2026 conference as “a step towards good-faith international cooperation to actually tackle the climate crisis”.
“We need a time-bound plan to curb [fossil fuel] production and use, end new licensing and subsidies, and mobilise finance for developing countries,” she added in a statement.
The post Colombia seeks to speed up a “just” fossil fuel phase-out with first global conference appeared first on Climate Home News.
Colombia seeks to speed up a “just” fossil fuel phase-out with first global conference
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Prepared by a coalition of nine Western Australian union, industry, conservation, and community organisations—including UnionsWA, the Conservation Council WA, and the Smart Energy Council—the WA Clean Energy, Jobs & Industry Plan provides a practical roadmap to transform Western Australia into a clean energy powerhouse while creating thousands of secure local jobs.
Western Australia stands at a pivotal crossroads: lead the global clean energy economy or watch investment, future industries, and secure jobs go elsewhere. The WA Clean Energy, Jobs & Industry Plan outlines a transformative blueprint to harness the state’s world-class solar and wind resources. Discover how legislated renewable targets, green iron manufacturing, and a dedicated regional training strategy can generate tens of thousands of local jobs, lower household bills, and build a resilient, net-zero future for all Western Australians.
WA needs a clear and forward-thinking plan if it is going to become a competitive renewable energy powerhouse and maintain its economic strength through the energy transition.
“Western Australians know a faster renewable energy transition will lower their household expenses and prevent harmful climate pollution. But the community also needs clear direction to ensure this transition will create jobs, lower costs and not cause undue environmental harm.
“Here, sectors representing a broad range of interests have laid the groundwork for those outcomes, clearly outlining what is needed to create a future for WA that is good for the environment, for the climate, for workers and for the economy.
Summary
The WA Clean Energy, Jobs & Industry Plan sets out a strategic roadmap to position Western Australia as a global clean energy superpower while creating thousands of secure local jobs.
The report establishes three overarching goals:
- Creating local employment.
- Maintaining industrial competitiveness.
- Lowering household energy costs
To realize this vision, the framework details actionable measures to follow on from the recent WA Government announcement of a 75% Renewable Energy Target by 2031 for the South West Interconnected System. This includes developing a statewide Renewable Energy Target, coordinating statewide workforce and training pipelines, strategically planning regional infrastructure to safeguard high-value biodiversity and cultural heritage, and ensuring equitable benefit-sharing through household electrification incentives and First Nations equity partnerships. Ultimately, the plan highlights that establishing clear policy and regulatory certainty will unlock lower energy bills, boost power reliability, and secure the state’s global competitiveness in emerging green commodity export markets.
Key Findings
- Statewide Renewable Energy Target and Emissions Reduction Targets: The report calls for a statewide RET and 1.5°C aligned emission reduction targets to remove policy risk, lower capital costs, and attract clean energy investment.
- Transformative Job Creation: Accelerating the transition offers massive employment prospects, including up to 8,800 solar and battery jobs by 2050, as well as 24,000 ongoing and 11,000 construction jobs in a commercial green iron industry.
- Industrial Electrification & Competitiveness: Requiring large gas users to adopt binding electrification timetables and providing concessional financing will protect existing energy-intensive manufacturers from rising energy costs and impending domestic gas shortfalls.
- Green Commodity Export Leadership: Western Australia can build new export markets in green iron, green ammonia, and offshore oil/gas decommissioning by constructing shared common-user infrastructure and setting dedicated Green Commodity Export Targets.
- Coordinated Workforce & Training Pipeline: To address critical skill shortages the plan recommends establishing a WA Clean Energy Jobs Plan 2050, three regional training hubs, and dedicated pathways for female and under-represented apprentices.
- Environmental Safeguards & Community Benefits: Fast-tracked development must be paired with State Planning Policies that avoid high-biodiversity and cultural heritage lands, mandate new data centres to run on additional renewable power, and deliver household electrification rebates and First Nations equity partnerships.
What you can do
WA has an opportunity to lead on sustainable, clean energy and associated industries. You can help by:
- Sending an email to Environment Minister Murray Watt and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, calling on them to reject Browse.
- Sharing this story to help more Australians understand what’s at stake.
- Encouraging your friends and family to take action.
Countries have completed the first “global review” of their progress towards reversing nature loss by 2030 at the COP17 biodiversity talks in Yerevan, Armenia.
The review “notes with deep concern” that, unless action is “rapidly accelerated”, the goal to reverse nature loss and meet a set of 23 targets by 2030 “will not be achieved”.
It “urges” countries to accelerate action, including by “increased ambition in addressing the gaps”.
Much of the discussions in Yerevan focused on how to raise the necessary funds to help developing countries protect nature.
Some major economies pushed to expand the range of nations that are expected to provide finance, with countries agreeing at the end of the two weeks of talks that non-donors that want to contribute can “signal interest” before COP18.
This came after developed countries failed to meet a target to significantly ramp up nature finance over the last few years.
It also came as a landmark fund agreed at COP16 in Colombia to pay communities for the genetic resources derived from nature stands nearly empty two years on.
The Yerevan talks marked the halfway point of the “Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework” (GBF), the “Paris Agreement for nature” first made in 2022 and due to be achieved by 2030.
During the nearly 12-hour-long final plenary, countries voted for Quito, Ecuador, to host the COP18 nature talks, which will be held in 2028.
Countries managed to sign off on all the major negotiation texts, marking a stark contrast to COP16, which ran so far over time that the Colombian presidency lost “quorum”, forcing talks to resume in Rome months later.
Below, Carbon Brief has detailed analysis of all of the key outcomes from COP17.
Formal negotiations
Finance
Finance, predictably, was at the heart of the discord and deadlock at the Yerevan talks.
At COP17, discussions on finance had to achieve several outcomes.
The first part – to take stock of biodiversity finance mobilised so far to meet the nature deal’s goals – fell under the global review.
As the global report noted, developed countries failed to meet their commitments to raise “at least $20bn a year by 2025” for nature. Delegates pointed to falling aid levels and a sharp 27% decline in environmental funding for the 2026-30 period.
The second part was to agree on how to mobilise resources for the next four years, to meet the GBF’s goals and targets.
Calls to “broaden the contributor base” of who pays to protect nature – and whether that should include emerging economies – became the most fraught element of the talks.
Eventually, countries agreed on what Switzerland described as a “super, mega-delicate” text. It hinged on major “political compromises”, with “no major winner or loser”, according to Kenya.
Per the decision, countries that want to be included on a list of developed country donors can “signal interest” through bilateral, confidential consultations before COP18 and every alternate COP after.
Finally, countries also agreed on criteria to shape and resource a new, permanent financial mechanism to protect nature after 2030.
However, this did not immediately take the form of a new