Fifty-seven countries accounting for a third of global GDP, a civil society that has been mobilised for months, a French roadmap on the table, three operational workstreams that will address debt, the cost of capital, and producer-consumer alignment. The transition is real, and it is underway. Even in Europe, the Green Deal could be in better shape than it seemed six months ago. But in Italy we have a problem: the alliance between an ideologically climate-sceptical and unprepared government and heavy fossil industry.

The first international conference entirely dedicated to phasing out oil, gas and coal concluded last night in Santa Marta (and celebrations went on all night long), in Colombia. For five days, Colombia and the Netherlands hosted fifty-seven countries, half a thousand civil society organisations, indigenous communities, trade unions, academics, parliamentarians and multilateral banks. The official document from the co-hosts published today, 30 April, is clear: the aim was not to set new targets, but to do what the COPs have failed to do in thirty years: to launch a concrete, science-based pathway on how to practically phase out fossil fuels. In a context that makes it clear that the transition, as Colombia and the Netherlands write,[1]« is past the point of no return’: according to the IEA, global renewable capacity grew by 50% between 2023 and 2025, and almost all new energy demand is now met by renewables.

Nothing can be taken for granted, however

Only 57 countries out of nearly 200 were present in Santa Marta; notable exceptions  were the United States, China, India, Russia and the Gulf monarchies. The co-hosts’ document itself states it plainly: this is ‘frontrunner cooperation’ by those who want to take action: waiting for unanimous UN consensus produced thirty years of fundamental progress, yet progress that is too slow for the pace demanded by the climate emergency. But this is precisely why Santa Marta is good news: it demonstrates that it is possible to break the deadlock, build alternative spaces that remain nevertheless connected to the UN system without being held hostage by it, and set concrete actions in motion.

What really starts from here

The co-hosts have announced five operational outcomes. The second conference is already scheduled for 2027 in Tuvalu; the pre-conference will take place in Ireland. Three workstreams are starting immediately: one on national roadmaps, led by the newly established  and highly significant Science Panel for the Global Energy Transition, based at the University of São Paulo, and by the NDC Partnership, a coalition bringing together over 260 members, including more than 140 countries (both developed and developing) and over 120 institutions; one on international financial architecture, in collaboration with ISD (a prestigious independent think tank based in Canada), which will tackle hard obstacles to exit fossil fuels: sovereign debt, the cost of capital, subsidies, and the ISDS arbitration mechanism that allows oil companies to sue states that stand in their way; and one on alignment between fossil fuel-producing and consuming countries, supported by the OECD. The final document will be handed over to the COP30 Presidency before the UNFCCC intersessional meeting in Bonn in June, presented at London Climate Action Week, delivered to the UN Secretary-General in New York, and incorporated into the second Global Stocktake: there is therefore  a direct and operational link with the ongoing global process: hopefully this will not a declaration that ends up in a drawer.

Without civil society, nothing would have happened

Without civil society, which has been mobilised for months, Santa Marta would not have existed. The People’s Summit brought together hundreds of organisations from 24 to 26 April, even before the ministers arrived.  340 organisations signed a declaration calling for the elimination of mechanisms that allow oil companies to sue states. The Fossil Fuel Treaty coalition is backed by 101 Nobel laureates, the World Health Organisation, the European Parliament, 4,000 organisations and 3,000 scientists. Governments did not wake up on their own: they were pushed. The Italian civil society delegation in Santa Marta, coordinated by Fossil Free Rising and GEA, alongside WWF, Legambiente, Rete dei Numeri Pari, LAV, Salviamo la Costituzione and others, also presented 300 concrete proposals. Before the conference, eleven Italian associations (CGIL, Greenpeace, Legambiente, Fridays for Future, A Sud, Extinction Rebellion, WWF and others) signed an appeal to members of the Italian and European parliaments. Without this pressure from below, the Italian government, which remained on the sidelines but was nonetheless present, would not have sent a representative.

The tide has turned in Europe too

And in Europe? Three months ago, the Green Deal seemed destined to be dismantled and is still under siege. Today, the situation seems less dire. The Clean Industrial Deal, the Affordable Energy Action Plan and the Industrial Accelerator Act presented by the Commission have sought to reconcile decarbonisation with competitiveness. In 2025, renewables in Europe generated more electricity than fossil fuels for the first time in history. And France was the first to present, right there in Santa Marta, a comprehensive roadmap for phasing out fossil fuels: coal by 2030, oil by 2045, gas by 2050. Fourteen pages, three precise dates. It is the first major European economy to put a timetable on the table. It is doing so with a mix combining nuclear and renewables; Greenpeace France finds it ‘largely insufficient’, and this is undoubtedly the case, given the age of France’s nuclear plants and the enormous budget shortfall that any real large-scale revival of nuclear power would entail. However, it is an important move that we hope will soon be followed by other countries.

And Italy?

And Italy, indeed. It was represented by climate delegate Francesco Corvaro. No announcements from the government, no high-level delegation, names never made public. La Notizia, l’Indipendente, LifeGate, il Manifesto: all use the same word, ‘low-key’. Not surprising, given that Italy continues to act at cross-purposes with the climate targets it has signed up to. Whilst France announced its roadmap, the Italian government passed a decree-law by a vote of confidence postponing the phase-out of coal from 2025 to 2038, despite the fact that it is already absolutely marginal (2-3%) in our energy mix. Thirteen more years and several million euros to compensate operators for keeping our few coal-fired power stations ready, though mostly shut down. A truly illogical choice, which follows on from the billion euros spent on a temporary reduction in excise duties in the last weeks.

And today, 29 April, as Santa Marta was closing, another important signal arrived from Brussels: the Commission adopted METSAF, the new temporary framework on state aid for the Middle East crisis. It allows Member States to support businesses and sectors affected by high energy costs, but does not include the possibility of reimbursing gas producers for the ETS allowances they pay. That is precisely Article 6 of the Italian energy bill decree. QualEnergia headlines: ‘New EU state aid rules reject ETS reimbursements in the energy bill decree’. ARERA, ECCO, the associations: they warned us in good time. The government pressed ahead anyway. Today, Brussels has put a stop to it.

The time to act is now

All this to say one simple thing: it is not true that we are defeated. The transition exists, it is underway, it has a global coalition of those who are no longer waiting, it has a French roadmap paving the way, it has a European Green Deal that is maybe weathered the storm, it has a civil society that continues to do its work. The Italian problem — a government that calls its inability to see where the world is heading ‘realism’, whilst we pay the highest energy bills in Europe precisely because we are the most dependent on gas — is a political problem, not a matter of fate. A family’s annual energy expenditure has exceeded two thousand euros. Spain pays less than half because it has invested in renewables. The transition, at the end of the day, is not ideology: it is in the material interests of Italian citizens.

The time to act is now. And the fact that at Santa Marta there was — and how! — also an important part of Italy, that of civil society and the regions, is the best proof that the country is not standing still. Only the government is.

[1] file:///Users/monicafrassoni/Downloads/TAFF+Conference_Co-host+Takeaways_DEF.pdf

Good news from Santa Marta: those keen to move away from fossil fuels are getting serious. (But Italy is holding back)

Fifty-seven countries accounting for a third of global GDP, a civil society that has been mobilised for months, a French roadmap on the table, three operational workstreams that will address debt, the cost of capital, and producer-consumer alignment. The transition is real, and it is underway. Even in Europe, the Green Deal could be in better shape than it seemed six months ago. But in Italy we have a problem: the alliance between an ideologically climate-sceptical and unprepared government and heavy fossil industry.

The first international conference entirely dedicated to phasing out oil, gas and coal concluded last night in Santa Marta (and celebrations went on all night long), in Colombia. For five days, Colombia and the Netherlands hosted fifty-seven countries, half a thousand civil society organisations, indigenous communities, trade unions, academics, parliamentarians and multilateral banks. The official document from the co-hosts published today, 30 April, is clear: the aim was not to set new targets, but to do what the COPs have failed to do in thirty years: to launch a concrete, science-based pathway on how to practically phase out fossil fuels. In a context that makes it clear that the transition, as Colombia and the Netherlands write,[1]« is past the point of no return’: according to the IEA, global renewable capacity grew by 50% between 2023 and 2025, and almost all new energy demand is now met by renewables.

Nothing can be taken for granted, however

Only 57 countries out of nearly 200 were present in Santa Marta; notable exceptions  were the United States, China, India, Russia and the Gulf monarchies. The co-hosts’ document itself states it plainly: this is ‘frontrunner cooperation’ by those who want to take action: waiting for unanimous UN consensus produced thirty years of fundamental progress, yet progress that is too slow for the pace demanded by the climate emergency. But this is precisely why Santa Marta is good news: it demonstrates that it is possible to break the deadlock, build alternative spaces that remain nevertheless connected to the UN system without being held hostage by it, and set concrete actions in motion.

What really starts from here

The co-hosts have announced five operational outcomes. The second conference is already scheduled for 2027 in Tuvalu; the pre-conference will take place in Ireland. Three workstreams are starting immediately: one on national roadmaps, led by the newly established  and highly significant Science Panel for the Global Energy Transition, based at the University of São Paulo, and by the NDC Partnership, a coalition bringing together over 260 members, including more than 140 countries (both developed and developing) and over 120 institutions; one on international financial architecture, in collaboration with ISD (a prestigious independent think tank based in Canada), which will tackle hard obstacles to exit fossil fuels: sovereign debt, the cost of capital, subsidies, and the ISDS arbitration mechanism that allows oil companies to sue states that stand in their way; and one on alignment between fossil fuel-producing and consuming countries, supported by the OECD. The final document will be handed over to the COP30 Presidency before the UNFCCC intersessional meeting in Bonn in June, presented at London Climate Action Week, delivered to the UN Secretary-General in New York, and incorporated into the second Global Stocktake: there is therefore  a direct and operational link with the ongoing global process: hopefully this will not a declaration that ends up in a drawer.

Without civil society, nothing would have happened

Without civil society, which has been mobilised for months, Santa Marta would not have existed. The People’s Summit brought together hundreds of organisations from 24 to 26 April, even before the ministers arrived.  340 organisations signed a declaration calling for the elimination of mechanisms that allow oil companies to sue states. The Fossil Fuel Treaty coalition is backed by 101 Nobel laureates, the World Health Organisation, the European Parliament, 4,000 organisations and 3,000 scientists. Governments did not wake up on their own: they were pushed. The Italian civil society delegation in Santa Marta, coordinated by Fossil Free Rising and GEA, alongside WWF, Legambiente, Rete dei Numeri Pari, LAV, Salviamo la Costituzione and others, also presented 300 concrete proposals. Before the conference, eleven Italian associations (CGIL, Greenpeace, Legambiente, Fridays for Future, A Sud, Extinction Rebellion, WWF and others) signed an appeal to members of the Italian and European parliaments. Without this pressure from below, the Italian government, which remained on the sidelines but was nonetheless present, would not have sent a representative.

The tide has turned in Europe too

And in Europe? Three months ago, the Green Deal seemed destined to be dismantled and is still under siege. Today, the situation seems less dire. The Clean Industrial Deal, the Affordable Energy Action Plan and the Industrial Accelerator Act presented by the Commission have sought to reconcile decarbonisation with competitiveness. In 2025, renewables in Europe generated more electricity than fossil fuels for the first time in history. And France was the first to present, right there in Santa Marta, a comprehensive roadmap for phasing out fossil fuels: coal by 2030, oil by 2045, gas by 2050. Fourteen pages, three precise dates. It is the first major European economy to put a timetable on the table. It is doing so with a mix combining nuclear and renewables; Greenpeace France finds it ‘largely insufficient’, and this is undoubtedly the case, given the age of France’s nuclear plants and the enormous budget shortfall that any real large-scale revival of nuclear power would entail. However, it is an important move that we hope will soon be followed by other countries.

And Italy?

And Italy, indeed. It was represented by climate delegate Francesco Corvaro. No announcements from the government, no high-level delegation, names never made public. La Notizia, l’Indipendente, LifeGate, il Manifesto: all use the same word, ‘low-key’. Not surprising, given that Italy continues to act at cross-purposes with the climate targets it has signed up to. Whilst France announced its roadmap, the Italian government passed a decree-law by a vote of confidence postponing the phase-out of coal from 2025 to 2038, despite the fact that it is already absolutely marginal (2-3%) in our energy mix. Thirteen more years and several million euros to compensate operators for keeping our few coal-fired power stations ready, though mostly shut down. A truly illogical choice, which follows on from the billion euros spent on a temporary reduction in excise duties in the last weeks.

And today, 29 April, as Santa Marta was closing, another important signal arrived from Brussels: the Commission adopted METSAF, the new temporary framework on state aid for the Middle East crisis. It allows Member States to support businesses and sectors affected by high energy costs, but does not include the possibility of reimbursing gas producers for the ETS allowances they pay. That is precisely Article 6 of the Italian energy bill decree. QualEnergia headlines: ‘New EU state aid rules reject ETS reimbursements in the energy bill decree’. ARERA, ECCO, the associations: they warned us in good time. The government pressed ahead anyway. Today, Brussels has put a stop to it.

The time to act is now

All this to say one simple thing: it is not true that we are defeated. The transition exists, it is underway, it has a global coalition of those who are no longer waiting, it has a French roadmap paving the way, it has a European Green Deal that is maybe weathered the storm, it has a civil society that continues to do its work. The Italian problem — a government that calls its inability to see where the world is heading ‘realism’, whilst we pay the highest energy bills in Europe precisely because we are the most dependent on gas — is a political problem, not a matter of fate. A family’s annual energy expenditure has exceeded two thousand euros. Spain pays less than half because it has invested in renewables. The transition, at the end of the day, is not ideology: it is in the material interests of Italian citizens.

The time to act is now. And the fact that at Santa Marta there was — and how! — also an important part of Italy, that of civil society and the regions, is the best proof that the country is not standing still. Only the government is.

[1] file:///Users/monicafrassoni/Downloads/TAFF+Conference_Co-host+Takeaways_DEF.pdf