COLOMBIA AND THE NETHERLANDS INVITE THE WORLD TO THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE FOR THE PHASE OUT OF FOSSIL FUELS
Dear Friends of the Fossil Fuel Treaty Initiative,
I am writing to you from Bogotá, Colombia. We’re already in December 2025, and I am still processing everything that unfolded during the past weeks at COP30.
The emotions were running so high during those final days that it wasn't until now that I have been able to sit down and reflect on all that occurred. As many of you may know by now, on 21 November, what should have been the last day of COP, Colombia announced the First International Conference For The Phase Out of Fossil Fuels, and launched the Belem Declaration. However, how it all occurred was indeed nothing short of cinematic.
It was November 20, and the scenario could have hardly been more dramatic. With the Amazonian background, part of the COP30 structure went up in flames just 15 minutes before the official announcement of the Conference. Many of us could not believe what we were seeing, the announcement had been pushed back two times by now, and this time because an actual fire obliged all delegates to evacuate the venue. With only one day to go, the dream of the first conference seemed to be going up in smoke.
Little did we know that the fire was a fiery new beginning. That afternoon, many unforeseen developments occurred. At the same time, many were anxious to hear if and when negotiations would resume, others were focused on whether Brazil’s new version of the Mutirão would include any mention of fossil fuels. Late that evening, the text was finally revealed, and perhaps unsurprisingly, no further mention of fossil fuels was found. That was when things took an unexpected turn. Suddenly, there was renewed momentum for the Colombian Conference and the Belém Declaration. Both now appeared to be the only plausible outcomes within the framework of COP for fossil fuels. Attention began to shift rapidly towards the press conference that Colombia had rescheduled for early the next day.
It was 9:25 a.m. on November 21, and the room was starting to fill up. By 9:30, the Press Conference room 1 was completely packed, and people were being turned away from the entrance. By 10:00, history had been made. The momentum was so high that just one day after, the President of COP, André Corrêa do Lago, recognised the Conference in his final speech as the next step in his still unknown roadmap to transition away from fossil fuels.
December is now underway, and we still have more questions than answers about the Conference. Much is still to be decided, but one thing is for certain: the optimism and momentum that many of us helped build is something that has not been felt for over a decade. We already took the first step. It is now up to all of us to grasp this opportunity and turn it into a story worth telling those to come.
See you all in Santa Marta,
SERGIO DIAZ
Legal Strategy Director of the Fossil Fuel Treaty Initiative
GOVERNMENTS OF COLOMBIA AND THE NETHERLANDS SHOW LEADERSHIP
As the COP30 negotiations drew to an end, and the final cover decision text made no mention of fossil fuels, the Governments of Colombia and the Netherlands showed leadership by announcing they will co-host the First International Conference for the Phase Out of Fossil Fuels.
The announcement was made by the Minister of Environment of Colombia, Irene Vélez Torres, and the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Climate Policy of the Netherlands, Sophie Hermans, during a high-level press conference in Belém.
CAMBODIA JOINS FOSSIL FUEL TREATY INITIATIVE AS THE 18TH NATION-STATE
Amid discussions around a roadmap to phase out fossil fuels at COP30, the Kingdom of Cambodia announced its support for the Fossil Fuel Treaty Initiative at a High-Level Briefing organised as part of the Action Agenda.
His Excellency Soung Sophorn, Secretary of State of the Council of Ministers, spoke of Cambodia’s intention to continue engaging and collaborating as the 18th nation-state composing the Initiative working to develop a binding mechanism to accelerate a global just transition and a managed phase out of oil, gas and coal.
COP30 PRESIDENCY BACKS FIRST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE FOR THE PHASE-OUT OF FOSSIL FUELS
Despite the omission of fossil fuels in the cover decision of COP30, and after widespread recognition of the need for a roadmap to manage a just transition away from oil, gas and coal, the COP30 Presidency announced that they back the First International Conference on the Phase-out of Fossil Fuels, as the space to start the development of the roadmap.
Another outcome stood out: governments agreed to develop a new Just Transition Mechanism, which would help underpin global climate governance through international cooperation, knowledge exchange and technical support.
“We welcome the fact that parties heard what communities, Indigenous peoples, women, workers were calling for to bring justice into the heart of this process.” -Amiera Sawas, Head of Policy and Research of the Fossil Fuel Treaty Initiative and Co-Chair of the Civil Society Working Group on the Just Transition Work Programme
JOURNEY FUND LAUNCHED TO RAISE BILLIONS FOR JUST TRANSITION FROM FOSSIL FUELS
On the main stage of the Global Citizen Festival: Amazonia, in Belém, a coalition of financial and independent partners announced a bold commitment to build a global just transition investment platform: The Journey Fund.
It will be an innovative fund pairing government fossil fuel phase-out commitments with private investment commitments to realize a just energy transition that builds regenerative, post-fossil economies while delivering social, environmental, and economic benefits across stakeholders.
“"We can't discard it entirely," Harjeet Singh, an activist with the Fossil Fuel Treaty Initiative, told BBC News. "But it requires retrofitting. We will need processes outside this system to help complement what we have done so far."
“This year’s United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change was billed as the “COP of Truth” by host country Brazil, but it could go down in history “as the deadliest talk show ever,” said Harjeet Singh, founding director of the Satat Sampada Climate Foundation in India and strategic advisor to theFossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative.”
“Activists in Belém, according to Harjeet Singh, an Indian climate activist, Cop veteran and strategic adviser to the fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty. “The ICJ advisory opinion is a lever to demand reparations and justice in a very different manner than what we have done in the past, but for that to happen we need to make it public opinion.
SOCIALS WORTH SHARING
Kumi’s emotional appeal at COP30
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