Nations gather for first-ever conference on fossil fuel exit

InternationalNations gather for first-ever conference on fossil fuel exitBy AFP -Apr 20, 2026PARIS: More than 50 nations are attending a world-first conference on phasing out fossil fuels in Colombia next week as the Iran war underscores how dependent countries remain on planet-heating coal, oil and gas. Ministers arrive in the Caribbean city of Santa Marta against a backdrop of wartime fuel shortages, soaring prices and a scramble for energy security in what the International Energy Agency has called the biggest oil supply shock ever. The gathering was born out of frustration with consensus-based United Nations climate talks, where efforts to negotiate a fossil fuel exit strategy have stalled. But organisers say the energy shock caused by Iran’s chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, the key transit point for Gulf oil and gas shipments, has strengthened the case for a fossil fuel phaseout, even as some countries look to coal in the short-term to secure supplies. Concerns over energy security are expected to shape the high-level discussions over April 28 and 29 as much as climate priorities, analysts say. The meeting was announced months ago but has taken on “greater relevance” with the energy crisis, said Colombia’s environment minister Irene Velez Torres, whose country is co-hosting with the Netherlands. Major fossil fuel producing nations Australia, Canada and Norway are expected along with developing oil giants Angola, Mexico and Brazil and coal-reliant emerging markets Turkey and Vietnam. They will join dozens of other countries from small-island developing states to major economies Germany, France and the UK. However, the world’s biggest coal, oil and gas producers — notably the United States, China, Saudi Arabia and Russia — are skipping the event. ‘Honest space’ It will be closely watched for political signals from an emerging coalition of fossil fuel producers and consumers pushing for a phaseout outside the UN process. Colombia — a coal and oil exporter — said...