Before the international conference in Colombia dedicated to phasing out fossil fuels, Environment State Secretary Jochen Flasbarth (SPD) offered a positive assessment. Regarding the event in Santa Marta, he noted that the gathering of what he described as a “pioneering coalition” was encouraging, observing that major segments of the global community were ready to confront the root causes of the ongoing fossil fuel crisis.
Flasbarth strongly advocated for increased reliance on alternatives to coal, oil, and gas. He highlighted several key countermeasures to fossil fuel dependence, including the expansion of renewable energy sources, increased investment in grids and storage capacity, and the electrification of mobility and heating systems. He added that these measures are being actively advanced both nationally and internationally.
The SPD politician defended the current approach to international climate diplomacy, arguing that two types of forums are necessary: those for pioneering alliances, such as the one in Santa Marta, and those designed to cultivate global consensus, such as the Petersberg Climate Dialogue. According to Flasbarth, achieving globally binding decisions at the World Climate Conference requires both practical real-world successes and excellent diplomacy among diverse interest groups to reach unified outcomes.
Currently, over 60 governments are set to attend the conference in Santa Marta, Colombia, on April 28th and 29th, hosted by Colombia and the Netherlands. Any potential outcomes from this conference are expected to feed into the international roadmap for phasing out fossil fuels. This roadmap was announced by the Brazilian COP30 presidency and is scheduled for release before COP31 in Antalya in November 2026.
This focus on exiting fossil fuels is central to the global effort, having been established by all Paris Agreement signatories at the World Climate Conference COP28 in Dubai in 2023. Indeed, at the COP30 in Brazil last year, officials from Colombia and the Netherlands had already announced that the international conference would be aligned with the goal of departing from fossil fuels.
On a national level, Germany has legally committed itself to achieving climate neutrality by 2045 through its federal climate protection act. According to the Federal Environment Ministry, this goal necessitates an extensive and comprehensive exit from fossil fuels by the late 2030s.